Rory McIlroy delivers brutal verdict after learning LIV Golf is finished

Rory McIlroy has delivered a brutal assessment of LIV Golf and its demise following the news that the breakaway tour is officially heading for a wind-down.

The Northern Irishman has never held back in his criticism of LIV Golf since its launch back in 2022 and his latest comments appear to be a final parting shot.

It was announced in April that the Saudi Public Investment Firm (PIF) were withdrawing their funding of LIV Golf after the conclusion of the 2026 season.

It looked as though LIV 2.0 was ready to go ahead as BC Partners Credit announced an initial $300m commitment, but that deal is now off, meaning LIV is dead in the water.

McIlroy believed that the proposed changes ahead of 2027 were never going to work out and attract the calibre of player that would make the league sustainable in the long run.

The 37-year-old pointed towards reduced prize money and a lack of signing bonuses as significant obstacles, claiming that the finances simply didn’t add up.

Rory McIlroy delivers final parting shot at LIV Golf

McIlroy produced a stunning round of 63 on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Championship to vault up the leaderboard and remain in contention for a record-equalling eighth order of merit title.

He bounced back from a two-shot penalty on Thursday to record 11 birdies in round two, but it wasn’t just his game that was discussed when speaking with the media after his round.

McIlroy was asked by Today’s Golfer about the news that LIV Golf is no more and he responded in typical fashion.

“It was always going to be very hard for them to get enough players to sign up for what they were proposing which was smaller prize money, no upfront payments,” he said.

“Equity in the league is one thing. They’ve always faced a lot of headwinds from the inception in 2022 but there was no way. If they couldn’t make $6 billion work, they were never going to make $300 million work. The math didn’t add up.”

With many players looking for places to play next year and beyond, the question is, can the DP World Tour benefit from LIV’s demise? McIlroy thinks so.

“It would be an amazing thing for this tour if all those guys were funnelled through the DP World Tour and were made to qualify that way,” he said. “I think that’s the right scenario and the right decision and also makes this tour incredibly strong. 

“It’s only going to be into the Championship Series. It’s only going to be a handful of cards so it’s going to be very, very competitive.”

With many of the game’s biggest stars looking for a permanent home, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks.