Rory McIlroy, and ‘the next step’ if Tour-Saudi deal falls through

Rory McIlroy says if a funding deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund is not reached soon, the PIF will look at “alternative options”.

What those options would be was unclear, with the Tour and PIF still negotiating 14 months after the parties’ agreement. McIlroy was speaking after Thursday’s race at the Tour’s season-ending event, the Tour Championship.

His suggestion came in response to this question from a reporter:

“Do you think that if something doesn’t happen soon, if something doesn’t happen soon, we run the risk that – knowing that it’s not that easy to make all this happen, that 2026 will pass us by?”

This prompted McIlroy to respond as follows:

“Yes, I think if it doesn’t happen soon, then I think, quite frankly, PIF and the Saudis need to look at alternative options, right? I think that’s probably the — I would say this is the next step in all of this if nothing is done.”

Could that mean some sort of renegotiation? Maybe. Could that mean the PIF and the Tour going their separate ways? Maybe. Currently, the PIF is the main financial backer of LIV Golf, which is nearing the end of its third season and has been competing with the Tour for players and prestige since its inception.

There was optimism, however, that the pro golf division would reach a resolution last June, when the Tour and PIF agreed to negotiations, but details were scarce in the months that followed — and in January, the Tour agreed to another major financing deal with a group made up largely of sports owners. In a press conference on Wednesday, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said the Tour and PIF had no deadline and that a Tour-PIF agreement was an “elevated” priority.

“It’s stronger,” Monahan said. “That’s a direct result of dialogue and conversation and really starting to talk about the future, future product vision and where we can take our sport.”

“I think if you have productive conversations, it increases the likelihood of positive outcomes, and it strengthens the spirit of those conversations. I think that’s where things are.”

On Thursday, after his first round at the Tour Championship, McIlroy was also asked if he was frustrated by the negotiations taking “so long.” McIlroy has previously spoken out about the battle between LIV Golf and the Tour, along with the proposed deal, and is a member of the Tour’s “transaction committee,” which helps guide the Tour side in negotiations.

“Yeah, of course,” McIlroy said in response to the question. “I think anyone who cares about golf has to be frustrated. I think anyone who cares about the PGA Tour has to be frustrated because we — we, the Royals — we’re not delivering the absolute best product that we can deliver because — I get the argument that these guys left and that was their choice and whatever.

“I just think it’s gone on long enough. We need to try to — I mean, I think everybody’s trying to find a solution. It’s just hard to find a solution.

“I go back to — even though I was on the wrong side of things, like the U.S. Open with Bryson and I (LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau), you really only get that four times a year, tops. I think the game of golf deserves to have things like that happen more than four times a year.”

Earlier this week, McIlroy expressed similar thoughts in an interview with GOLF’s Dylan Dethier (you can read the story here).

“More of the same, I guess,” he said, when asked to sum up the year of professional golf. “I would have thought there would have been more progress, which is a shame. I think everyone’s just fed up with it at this point, just had enough. It’s just become a bit of a cloud over golf. But a very specific cloud, you know?

“I wish more had been done, but there doesn’t seem to be much willingness from some people to try to fix it.”

McIlroy also told Dethier that reunion brings a higher ceiling and he mentioned DeChambeau and the US Open, where McIlroy finished runner-up in a memorable final round.

“(LIV) has a lot of personalities, you know,” McIlroy said. “The PGA Tour, I mean, we’re here to create the best product. You need villains.

“Otherwise it could become flat.”

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he’s responsible for editing, writing and developing stories around the world of golf. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball longer and straighter, the Milwaukee native can probably be found playing the game, hitting it left, right and short, and drinking a cold one to wash down his score. You can contact him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at [email protected].