Even when LIV Golf spends lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} to re-sign two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy stated he does not assume issues will get any higher for the Saudi-funded breakaway league.
You did not make any notably huge contracts this yr, proper? McIlroy advised London’s Telegraph on Thursday. “They have not signed a participant that modifications issues, and I do not assume they may both. I imply, they might re-sign Bryson for lots of of tens of millions of {dollars}, however even when they did, their product would not change, proper? They’d simply pay for the very same factor.”
McIlroy, who’s competing on this week’s Dubai Invitational on the DP World Tour, stated he’s happy to have former LIV Golf captain Brooks Koepka returning to the PGA Tour. The five-time main champion will donate $5 million to charity on the request of the PGA Tour and quit his participant inventory for the following 5 years.
“That is nice as a result of we will put Brooks again the place he belongs,” McIlroy stated. “He is top-of-the-line gamers on the planet and I believe something that enhances the normal tour is an effective factor.”
DeChambeau and LIV Golf captains Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith may even be eligible to return to the PGA Tour underneath the brand new Returning Member Program as previous winners of one of many 4 majors or The Gamers Championship beginning in 2022.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolup stated the return deadline closes on February 2nd.
At a press convention in Palm Seaside, Fla., on Tuesday, DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith stated they intend to stay with LIV Golf.
DeChambeau’s contract with LIV Golf expires on the finish of this season. Mr. Rahm and Mr. Smith have a number of years left of their careers, officers stated.
DeChambeau stated contract negotiations with LIV Golf are ongoing.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF) has lured a lot of PGA Tour members to LIV Golf with multi-year contracts reportedly value greater than $100 million. Rahm’s contract is believed to be value greater than $300 million.
In February 2025, then-PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and participant administrators Tiger Woods and Adam Scott met with PIF President Yasir Al-Rumayan on the White Home. PIF thought-about injecting $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, however the deal seems to have fallen by.
“We have now to acknowledge that we had been attempting to cope with individuals who had been behaving in some methods irrationally merely by way of the capital that they had been allocating and the cash that they had been spending,” McIlroy stated. “It has been 4 or 5 years and so they nonetheless have not made a revenue. However they will should maintain spending that cash simply to take care of what they’ve.”
PIF has injected greater than $5 billion into LIV Golf since its launch in 2022, together with greater than $1 billion final yr, in accordance with UK monetary paperwork.
LIV Golf, identified for its shotgun begins, staff golf and festive ambiance, is shifting to 72-hole tournaments this season to enhance its possibilities of being acknowledged by the Official World Golf Rankings. Funding has been elevated to $30 million for 11 regular-season occasions and $50 million for season-ending staff and particular person championships.
“A whole lot of them are on expiring contracts,” McIlroy stated. “They’ll ask for a similar quantity, possibly much more. LIV has spent $5 billion or $6 billion to this point, and they will should spend one other $5,600 million to take care of the established order. Look, I am rather more comfy on the PGA Tour facet than I’m on their facet, however you by no means know what is going on to occur.
“Time will inform, however I’m very joyful to be becoming a member of the PGA Tour.”
