Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, the world number two, considers a reunification between the PGA Tour and the LIV, the Saudi-funded circuit, "very difficult," and labeled the behavior of the league's management, which was founded in 2022, "irrational" due to the enormous amount spent on player contracts.
"As someone who supports the traditional structure of men's professional golf, we have to be aware that we were trying to deal with people who were acting, in a way, irrationally, simply in terms of the capital they were allocating and the money they were spending," McIlroy stated at a forum organized by the American channel CNBC.
Rory McIlroy, statements
According to the Northern Irish golfer, since the creation of the LIV in 2022, its organizers "have not yet recovered anything" and "will have to continue spending that money to maintain what they have now."
Many of their players have expired contracts. Theyre going to ask for the same amount, or even more. LIV has spent five or six billion dollars (between 4.4 and 5.1 million euros) and will have to spend another five or six billion to stay where it is, predicted the recent winner of the seventh DP World Tour crown, the European Tour.
Among the stars who play on the Saudi circuit, whose tournaments do not count toward the world rankings, are Spaniard Jon Rahm and American Bryson DeChambeau, both winners of two majors.
McIlroy, who plays on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour, expressed his skepticism that an agreement could be reached between the PGA Tour and LIV, comparing it to other sports that have also experienced a schism.
If you look at boxing, for example, or whats happened in motorsports in the United States with IndyCar, NASCAR, and everything else, I think unification would be better for golf in general. () But I think with whats happened in recent years, its going to be very difficult to achieve, the Northern Irishman stated.
The first European player to win a Grand Slam in golf guaranteed that he will remain in his current position: I feel much more comfortable being on the PGA Tour side than on their side (LIV) ().
The leadership that Brian [Rolapp] has already demonstrated and where he wants to take the PGA Tour, everyone on the PGA Tour sees that we are in a good position and we are confident that his direction and leadership will put us in the right place, he added regarding the CEO of the American circuit, appointed to the position last June.
