Rory McIlroy admitted golf may never be reunited after claiming LIV Golf’s “irrational” outlay has driven a wedge in the sport too deep to repair
FIVE-TIME major winner Rory McIlroy believes golf’s bitter split may never be fixed.
It’s been more than two-and-a-half years after the proposed LIV Golf merger with the PGA Tour, but both sides remain no closer to striking a deal.
And the Grand Slam champ also say LIV’s “irrational” spending has created a divide that is now too big to repair.
The Northern Irishman says hopes of unity have faded badly since the Saudi-backed series tempted away some of the sport’s biggest names with monster deals in 2021.
A proposed merger once looked like a path back to peace, but more than McIlroy admits both sides remain way apart.
Speaking at CNBC’s CEO Council Forum, the Holwyood ace reckons LIV may fade into something similar to boxing.
He said: “You see some of these other sports that have been fractured for so long.
“You look at boxing for example, or you look at what’s happened in motor racing in the United States with Indy and NASCAR and everything else, I think for golf in general it would be better if there was unification.
“But I just think with what’s happened over the last few years, it’s just going to be very difficult to be able to do that.
“As someone who supports the traditional structure of men’s professional golf, we have to realise we were trying to deal with people that were acting, in some ways, irrationally, just in terms of the capital they were allocating and the money they were spending,
“It’s been four or five years and there hasn’t been a return yet but they’re going to have to keep spending that money to even just maintain what they have right now.
“A lot of these guys’ contracts are up. They’re going to ask for the same number or an even bigger number.
“LIV have spent five or six billion US dollars and they’re going to have to spend another five or six just to maintain where they are.
“I’m way more comfortable being on the PGA Tour side than on their side but who knows what’ll happen?”
The division continues to spiral. with Three-time DP World Tour winner and former PGA Tour member Victor Perez joining the PIF-backed league on 18 November.
Former Open champion Henrik Stenson, 49, is reportedly set to make a return to the DP World Tour next season after paying off more than $1million in fines to Europe’s top circuit.
And it won’t just be the full-time replacements for the relegated players – LIV is also expected to bring in fresh faces elsewhere across its roster.
