Rory McIlroy takes shots at LIV Golf: "That says something about you"

Rory McIlroy says the PGA Tour and not LIV is the place to be if you want to be "the most competitive golfer you can be". 

The future of the breakaway tour is in doubt after Saudi Arabia announced they will no longer fund the venture beyond the 2026 season. 

LIV Golf have already hired a new board led by investment bankers Gene Davis and Jon Zinman in an attempt to survive. 

Their self-anointed wartime CEO, Scott O'Neil, remains bullish about the future and in a recent interview with GOLF claimed their biggest star, Bryson DeChambeau, will personally attend pitches to investors over the next few weeks. 

McIlroy, who made a big move up the leaderboard on day two of the Truist Championship in Charlotte, said everyone knows his views on LIV and "where it stands in the game of golf". 

"I don't think I need to rehash any of that" he said. "It's never been for me and, look, it doesn't mean that LIV is going to go away. 

"They're going to go and try and find alternative investment, whatever that may look like. 

"But when one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world thinks that you're too expensive for them, that sort of says something."

The aforementioned DeChambeau is out of contract at the end of the season. 

It's understood the American, 32, wants at least $500m to remain. 

He recently suggested he would concentrate on growing his YouTube channel should LIV shutter completely. 

Although he didn't rule out a return to the PGA Tour, DeChambeau suggested one of the biggest sticking points would be the lack of control and ownership of his content creation. 

The PGA Tour is reportedly preparing to roll out an updated social media policy for its members, though it remains to be seen what DeChambeau thinks of the alterations. 

PGA Tour chief executive, Brian Rolapp, has confirmed several LIV players have already reached out to find out if they would be welcomed back into the fold. 

DeChambeau's teammate, Anirban Lahiri, told The Times before LIV's event in Virginia that it was "the biggest joke ever" that several of his peers are chomping at the bit to return to the PGA Tour. 

Lahiri, 38, claimed he knew of at least 12 LIV players that would prefer to retire than re-join the PGA Tour. 

"It's a question if they do want to come back," McIlroy said. 

"Obviously we have seen the quotes over the last few days. 

"Again, it all depends on what happens to LIV. But if it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, you know, I think Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this Toue stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that. That's just good business practice.

"So, but again I think there's going to be a lot of sort of bridges to cross to get there, just because, you know, obviously the guys over there are under contract and if they are able to keep it going and get a schedule together next year, it seems like those guys are still going to play the majority of their golf on LIV, in whatever form it takes."

McIlroy was once one of LIV Golf's harshest critics. 

He performed an enormous U-turn at the beginning of 2024, though, explaining that he was far too judgemental of the players that left. 

"I was seeing it from my point of view and maybe not seeing it from other points of view," he added. 

"But again, I'm not going to judge anyone for not wanting to play on the PGA Tour.

"I don't know, you know, does that mean that they go play DP World Tour maybe; if that's a pathway, that would make the DP World Tour stronger, and I would be delighted with that, because that's my home Tour, at the end of the day.

"But this is, if you want to be the most competitive golfer you can be, this is the place to be. 

"And if you don't want to play here, I think that says something about you."