Rory McIlroy Says PGA Tour-PIF Alliance Will 'Neutralize Any Threat' From LIV Golf

Few details have come out on the 'framework agreement' but McIlroy said ideally that all parties would play in one system, with limited influence from LIV Golf.

As a year-end date looms for a deal to be made between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia as part of a "framework agreement" announced in early June, very little information of substance has come forth as part of negotiations that are said to be frequent.

But Rory McIlroy gave some insight as part of Golf Weekly’s Off the Ball podcast while in Ireland this week for the Irish Open as there has been considerable conjecture about what an agreement would mean for the LIV Golf League.

“If the PIF are really interested in golf and they want to get in the system, at least if we provide them a pathway to play within the system and they’re not taking over the sport, it neutralizes any threat of LIV becoming something it hopefully shouldn’t become," McIlroy said. “And they play within the boundaries that are set within our sport and we all go from there."

"They've played within the ecosystems of those other sports."

"They didn't try to buy the Premier League or F1."

Rory McIlroy spoke to @GolfWeeklyOTB's @nathanmurf & @MolloyJoe about his feelings on LIV Golf and the PIF.

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McIlroy is one of six playing members of the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, which includes Tiger Woods. McIlroy had made clear in the past his disdain for LIV Golf and originally was against “where the money" was coming from.

The surprising June 6 announcement of the “framework agreement" caught even McIlroy by surprise. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan came under heavy criticism for the secret nature of the negotiations, which led to Woods acquiring a seat on the board and a change to the Tour rules which will require player sign-off on any future agreement.

Rory McIlroy is on the PGA Tour Policy Board alongside Tiger Woods :: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

As it was written, the agreement calls for PGA Tour Inc.—the non-profit organization that operates the schedule today—to remain as is. A new company called PGA Tour Enterprises would see Monahan operate as CEO of a PGA Tour-controlled board of directors, with Yasir Al-Rumayyan serving as chairman. Al-Rumayyan is the governor of the PIF and is chairman of the Newcastle United football team in England’s Premier League.

The new PGA Tour Enterprises is what remains a mystery. How would it work and who would be a part of it? Various ideas have been floated, including folding some form of LIV Golf into the new for-profit venture as well as a series of worldwide events that operate outside of the PGA Tour schedule.

If a deal is reached, Al-Rumayyan would also get a seat on the PGA Tour’s policy board and would be part of the system that McIlroy references.

“The only thing I would say about the PIFs investment in other sports is they went in and sort of played within the ecosystems of those other sports," McIlroy said during the podcast. “They didn’t go and try to buy Formula One. They didn’t go try and buy the Premier League. Yes, they bought a Premier League Football club, Newcastle. And it’s actually worked out really well for them.

“Again, there has to be a point where you see everything else happening in the world. You see big private equity companies in America taking their money ... if this is what’s happening, the way I’ve framed it, the world has decided for me, in a way."

Nothing, it seems, would be able to take place prior to 2025. The PGA Tour has announced its 2024 schedule and the LIV Golf League is set to announce its 2024 schedule in the coming weeks, taking a business-as-usual approach.

McIlroy is coming off a fourth-place finish at the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship and FedEx Cup playoffs. He is playing this week’s Irish Open at the K Club outside of Dublin followed by the BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship tournament, next week outside of London. The Ryder Cup is two weeks later.