Lee Westwood takes brutal swipe at Rory McIlroy as LIV Golf officially shuts down

Lee Westwood has taken aim at Rory McIlroy over his criticism of LIV Golf, just as the breakaway league officially confirms it is shutting down after five turbulent years.

The former Ryder Cup teammates have found themselves on opposite sides of professional golf's ongoing divide, with Westwood accusing McIlroy of simply repeating claims made by DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings.

Speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi Championship, McIlroy agreed with Kinnings' assessment that LIV Golf had spent more than $7 billion, with one of its objectives allegedly being to destroy the European circuit.

The six-time major champion also claimed LIV representatives had openly discussed those intentions at Augusta National during this year's Masters.

"They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy The European Tour," McIlroy said.

The World No.2 added that LIV had taken players and sponsors away from established golf, turning the sport into an arms race.

McIlroy also questioned the sustainability of LIV's financial model, suggesting the enormous investment was always likely to run into difficulties without a realistic return.

But Westwood, who was once a close Ryder Cup colleague of McIlroy, has strongly challenged that version of events.

Speaking to talkSPORT on Thursday, the Englishman suggested McIlroy was simply regurgitating what Kinnings had already said, insisting he had never heard LIV players express a desire to destroy the DP World Tour.

"Why would they do that?" Westwood asked.

"Most of the players that played on LIV were actually playing on the European Tour as well. It was one of their main sources for world ranking points."

The 25-time DP World Tour winner also questioned why McIlroy had chosen to revisit the alleged comments from Augusta National, six months after the tournament he successfully defended. 

Westwood then went further, suggesting the DP World Tour could now be looking to blame LIV for everything as the breakaway league reaches its end.

"That statement there sort of says to me, we're going to try and blame LIV for everything, now it's going," he said.

The former World No.1 even suggested Kinnings might be looking for an excuse ahead of delivering difficult news to the DP World Tour membership.

Westwood's comments come as his own future remains uncertain.

The 53-year-old admitted on The Chipping Forecast podcast earlier this week that he is currently unemployed, with no confirmed Tour to play on in 2027.

He does have a potential route back to the DP World Tour, although a return would mean serving a suspension covering the first 10 tournaments on the schedule.

Meanwhile, McIlroy believes the DP World Tour is emerging from the LIV turmoil in a strong position, especially with a host of former LIV players expected to return or receive invites to compete next season.

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Telegraph Sport reported just hours after LIV's shutdown was announced that Bryson DeChambeau had been handed a golden ticket onto the DP World Tour for 2027, should he wish to take it. 

Sergio Garcia, who spoke exclusively to GolfMagic this week, is among the high-profile names returning to a full schedule on the European circuit, alongside Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.

With LIV Golf's proposed relaunch abandoned and its closure now confirmed, the disagreement between Westwood and McIlroy provides another reminder that the fallout from golf's civil war is far from over.