Rory McIlroy, and the ‘next step’ if a Tour-Saudi deal doesn’t happen

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

What those options would be was unclear as the Tour and PIF continue to negotiate, 14 months after the parties agreed to do so. McIlroy was speaking after Thursday’s match at the Tour’s season-ending event Championship tournament.

His suggestion came after this question from a reporter:

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

That drew this response from McIlroy:

“Yeah, I think if it doesn’t happen soon, then frankly, I think the PIF and the Saudis are going to have to look at alternative options, right? I think that’s probably — I’d say that’s the next step in all of this if something doesn’t get done.”

Could this mean some kind of renegotiation? Maybe. Could this mean the PIF and the Tour go their separate ways? Maybe. Currently, PIF is the main supporter of LIV Golf, which is nearing the end of its third season and has been battling the Tour for players and prestige since its inception.

However, there was optimism that golf’s pro division would reach a settlement last June when the Tour and PIF agreed to negotiate, but in the months since, details have been scarce – and in January, the Tour agreed to another important financing dealwith a group consisting mainly of sports owners. On Wednesday, in a press conference, the commissioner of the tournament Jay Monahan said that the Tour and the PIF did not have a deadline and that a Tour-PIF deal was an “enhanced” priority.

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

“I think when you engage in productive conversations, it increases the likelihood of positive outcomes and it increases the spirit of those conversations. I think that’s where things stand.”

On Thursday, after his first round of the Tour Championship, McIlroy was also asked if he was frustrated by negotiations that “took so long”. McIlroy has previously been vocal in the battle between LIV Golf and the Tour, along with the proposed deal, and he is a member of the Tour’s “transaction committee,” which is helping lead the Tour’s side of the negotiations .

“Yeah, sure,” McIlroy said in response to the question. “I think anybody who cares about golf, I think, should be frustrated. I think anybody who cares about the PGA Tour should be disappointed because we’re – we, the royals we – we’re not putting out the absolute best product that we can because – I have the argument that these guys left and it was their choice and whatever.

“I just think it’s gone on long enough. We have to try – I mean, I think everyone is trying to find a solution. It’s just a difficult solution to achieve.

“I go back to — even though I was on the wrong side of things, like US Open with Bryson and me (LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau), you’ll only really get it four times a year at most. I think the game of golf deserves these kinds of things to happen more than just four times a year.”

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

“More of the same, I guess,” he said, when asked for an overview of the year in pro golf. “I thought more progress would have been made, which is unfortunate. I think at this point, everybody’s just getting sick of it, just getting tired of it. It’s just a bit of a cloud over golf. But a very warm cloud, you know?

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

McIlroy also told Dethier that the reunion brings with it a higher ceiling, and he pointed to DeChambeau and the US Open, where McIlroy finished runner-up as part of a memorable final round.

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

“Otherwise it can get flat.”

Nick Piastowski

Editor of Golf.com

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his score. . You can reach him about any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beers – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.