McIlroy: "A Merger Between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf Is Unlikely"

Expresses His Stance at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic
Little Progress Since the 2023 Merger Announcement
"Hard to Imagine Either Side Making Concessions"

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) has expressed a negative stance regarding the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

On January 21 (local time), McIlroy attended the official press conference for the DP World Tour Hero Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he candidly stated, "The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are too far apart to come together again," adding, "At this point, it is hard to even imagine a merger."

Rory McIlroy expressed negative opinions about the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

The PGA Tour has been in a tense standoff with LIV Golf, which is backed by Saudi Arabian capital, since LIV Golf launched in 2022. As LIV Golf lured away top PGA Tour players, the PGA Tour responded by banning those who joined LIV Golf from participating in its tournaments. In June 2023, just one year after LIV Golf's launch, the two organizations abruptly announced a merger. However, in the two and a half years since, there has been little actual progress toward integration.

Recently, Brooks Koepka (United States), who had been playing for LIV Golf, returned to the PGA Tour, but there are still no clear signs of the two organizations coming together. Even Donald Trump, the golf enthusiast and former U.S. President, remarked last year that "the merger negotiations between the two organizations are more complicated than the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine."

McIlroy, who had been openly critical of LIV Golf in its early days, commented, "It is hard to imagine either side making concessions during the merger negotiations," and added, "An ideal merger would require both sides to feel like winners, but realistically, that is not easy to achieve."