Rory McIlroy may not have been in attendance for the in-person meetings between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund last week in New York, but he still knows more than most when it comes to the slowly progressing potential deal between the tour and LIV Golf's financial backers. A member of the the PGA Tour Enterprises' transaction subcommittee, the 35-year-old offered a glimpse into what may be holding up negotiations between the two sides.
"Department of Justice. Maybe different interests from the players' side. I'd say -- it's pretty similar," McIlroy explained ahead of the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. "I'd say maybe half the players on LIV want the deal to get done; half probably don't. I'd say it's probably similar on the PGA Tour. Because just like anything, everyone's looking out for themselves and their best interests. You know, it would benefit some people for a deal not to get done, but it would obviously benefit some people for a deal to get done.
"Yeah, I think there's different opinions amongst the players about what should happen, and I think when you have a members' run organization, it complicates things a little bit -- especially when some of those players are having to make decisions on the business side of things. So, those are the two. I think the tours want it to happen. The investors certainly want it to happen because they can see the benefit for themselves. But right now, it's DOJ and differing opinions of the players."
A former member of the PGA Tour policy board, McIlroy resigned from his post last fall, ultimately being replaced by Jordan Spieth. This past spring, McIlroy attempted to regain a place on the board when Webb Simpson intended to resign; however, he was blocked by current members. Instead, McIlroy was given a position on the transaction subcommittee on which Tiger Woods and Adam Scott also serve.
Rumors have swirled around which players approve of a deal with the rival circuit and which are against an agreement. Spieth spoke about no longer needing the investment from the PIF after PGA Tour Enterprises was injected with $1.5 billion (up to $3 billion) from the Strategic Sports Group this past winter. He later clarified his comments saying he wished for a deal that makes sense for all parties.
McIlroy, on the other hand, has been open to reuniting the game after going back-and-forth on the matter during the early stages of LIV Golf. The four-time major champion has implored, "We've got this window of opportunity to get it [a deal] done."
"If things don't materialize with the PGA Tour ... I think it would maybe bring the European Tour back to like the '80s and '90s when there was like really two strong tours," McIlroy said. "But it keeps the game divided, and I don't like that. You know, I really want the game to come back together. It would be 'Plan B.' It would be maybe an alternative to the best solution.
"And look, selfishly as a European, it would be wonderful to get that investment and to use that money in the right way for this tour. But it still keeps the game divided, which I just can't quite get on board with, and I'd love to see everything and everyone come back together."
While players' motivations may not be aligned, the bigger elephant in the room when it comes to a potential deal is the U.S. government. One week after the initial framework agreement between the parties was made public, the Justice Department announced it would look into the deal to determine whether it violates antitrust law.
"We were competing against LIV; I felt very good about the changes we've made and the position we were in," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in June 2023, "but to take the competitor off the board, to have them exist as a partner, not an owner, and for us to be able to control the direction going forward put us in a … productive position for the game at large."
As a result of the DOJ's inquiry, the PGA Tour and PIF removed a non-solicitation clause in the framework agreement that later opened the door for two-time major champion Jon Rahm to transition from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. Bloomberg reported this week that Rahm's $300 million contract with LIV Golf is another point of contention in discussions.
Rahm won LIV Golf's individual season-long race last week with his triumph in Chicago. At the same time, McIlroy contended in his home country at the Irish Open while the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Fall got underway in Napa, California, further illustrating the current divide in the men's game.
