Rory McIlroy: PGA Tour merger with ‘irrational’ LIV Golf unlikely
Rory McIlroy doubts golf’s divide will be mended as “irrational” Series LIV spending has created such a chasm in the sport.
It had been hoped that the acrimonious split, which arose when the Saudi separatist league lured many of the biggest stars with huge contracts in 2021, could be resolved when a merger was proposed.
But more than two and a half years after this issue was raised, the two sides appear no closer to a resolution.
“You see some of these other sports that have been fractured for so long,” McIlroy told CNBC’s CEO Council Forum. “You look at boxing for example, or you look at what happened in auto racing in the United States with Indy and NASCAR and everything else, I think for golf in general it would be better if there was a unification.
“But I think with what’s happened in recent years, it’s going to be very difficult to achieve that.
“As defenders of the traditional structure of men’s professional golf, we have to realize that we were trying to deal with people who were acting, in some ways, irrationally, simply in terms of the capital they were allocating and the money they were spending.
“It’s been four or five years and there hasn’t been a return yet, but they’re going to have to keep spending this money, if only to maintain what they have now.
“A lot of these guys’ contracts are up. They’re going to ask for the same amount or an even higher amount. LIV has spent five or six billion US dollars, and they’re going to have to spend five or six more just to stay where they are.
“I’m a lot more comfortable on the PGA Tour side than on their side, but who knows what’s going to happen?”
LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau admits the two sides are currently too far apart.
“I would like to see something significant happen, but I don’t think it’s going to happen in the immediate future,” he told Fox News.
“I think there are too many desires on both sides and not enough concessions on the other.
“We’re just too far apart on a lot of things. It’s going to take time, but ultimately I think golf is going to grow internationally.”
