Rory McIlroy said members of LIV Golf were "saying they wanted to destroy the European Tour" at this year's Masters, just days before the league's financial backer, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, withdrew its financial support for the league.
McIlroy agreed with DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings, who shared a similar revelation. "They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race," McIlroy said. "They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy the European Tour."
McIlroy noted that LIV's money created the International Series on the Asian Tour but left the Asian Tour "high and dry," leading to a partnership with the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He said long-term sustainability for men's professional golf is in a much better spot.
Kinnings discussed a potential PGA Tour schedule shift, the balance of welcoming back LIV players, and protecting the tour against an entity that spent over $7 billion with an aim to "destroy the DP World Tour." Former LIV members Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Louis Oosthuizen, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Sergio Garcia, and Ian Poulter are set to return to the DP World Tour in 2027.
McIlroy called it ironic that LIV now talks about "completing and not competing" after their earlier stance. He believes the DP World Tour is in a strong position and that a new agreement with the PGA Tour post-2027 is progressing.
