Rory McIlroy Says He Doesn’t See Reunification Happening

The idea that the LIV Golf and PGA Tour merger is dead in the water is an idea that has been spreading fast.  Last season, there were several opportunities for the two to reach an agreement.  Each time negotiations fell apart, including one meeting when the US president was involved.  The idea has spread to the players as well, including Rory McIlroy, who believes that the two leagues are just “too far apart.”

Rory McIlroy On The Two Leagues

In light of Brooks Koepka’s recent return, the chances of reunification seem lower and lower.  This came to a head for McIlroy during the same interview where he called for Rahm and Hatton to pay their fines.

“Just I don’t see a world where the two or three sides or whoever it is will give up enough,” McIlroy said. “Like for reunification to happen, every side is going to feel like they will have lost, where you really want every side to feel like they have won. I think they are just too far apart for that to happen. I think relationships [between tours] are better, but, at the same time, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every organisation will give up in its own best interest.”

McIlroy has been a critic of the Saudi-backed league since it made its debut, but has always hoped for reunification.  His criticism has been with the league itself rather than the players.  Whenever he went against a LIV player in a major, he always kept things civil, just wanting to play a good game.  He even praised some LIV players in the past.

The Differences Between The Leagues’ Interests

McIlroy’s note about the differences in interests between the two leagues has been ringing true throughout the negotiations.  One major issue would have been how much say LIV would have over the league’s post-merger.  There’s also how much of a beast LIV Golf would be to manage compared to the PGA Tour.  With a couple exception, the regular Tour season is held in North America.  Meanwhile, LIV Golf is a world tour that has plenty of events in the States, but will go as far as East Asia for tournament venues.  None of this is even getting into the finances of LIV Golf, as that is its own issue.  

McIlroy And The Merger Sentiment

Players like McIlroy have been hoping for reunification for some time now.  Players like him have also been willing to compromise when it comes to the fines and suspensions in the past.  Previously, McIlroy has suggested that he’d be fine with the punishments on LIV players being lifted.  Once they make the jump back to the PGA, of course, saying that “they’ve paid their consequence in terms of reputation and some of the things they’ve lost”.  

As far as the merger goes, there’s not much hope for it left.  The situation has come to the point where players like McIlroy are questioning if it’s even possible anymore.  However, with Koepka’s return, a merger may not even be necessary for these players to see each other on the fields again outside of majors.