Rory McIlroy On LIV-Deal: “Half the Players Don’t Want the Deal”

A key topic at Rory McIlroy’s press conference ahead of the BMW PGA Championship 2024 was the potential deal between LIV Golf, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. The 35-year-old spoke about the central role of the Ministry of Justice and the divided opinions of players on both tours. Popular PGA Tour pro Michael S. Kim, among others, commented on the topic on X (Twitter).

Rory McIlroy: “Would Benefit Some People For A Deal Not To Get Done”

Q. What do you think is the major stumbling block or blocks holding up any chance of a deal between LIV and PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour?

RORY McILROY: Department of Justice. Maybe different interests from the players’ side. I’d say — it’s pretty similar. I’d say maybe half the players on LIV want the deal to get done; half probably don’t. I’d say it’s probably similar on the PGA TOUR. Because just like anything, everyone’s looking out for themselves and their best interests. You know, it would benefit some people for a deal not to get done, but it would obviously benefit some people for a deal to get done.

Yeah, I think there’s different opinions amongst the players about what should happen, and I think when you have a members’ run organisation, it complicates things a little bit, especially when should of those players are having to make decisions on the business side of things. So those are the two. I think the tours want it to happen. The investors certainly want it to happen because they can see the benefit for themselves.

But right now, it’s DOJ and differing opinions of the players.

Q. You know much more about LIV and things but we heard in the last few days that the last meeting that was last week, or just before that, but there was a more optimistic or it there is a more optimistic mood about that as a result of that meeting. As I say, you know much more about this than we do. Is that your feeling, too?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I believe so. I wasn’t a part of those meetings, so I don’t — I may be know a touch more than you do but not a ton.

But yeah, as I said, I think one of the stumbling blocks is the Department of Justice, and I think — I think trying to approach that from a collaborative standpoint, I think seems to be the best way forward.

So yeah, I think to me it seems like the people that are really making the decisions are all rowing in the same direction, which is a really good thing. And even if they are all rowing in the same direction, it still doesn’t mean that a deal may get done because it’s just a very complicated set of circumstances.

But yeah, from what I hear, there’s optimism there, and that’s good to see.

Q. As you said, it’s a very complex scenario at the moment for the game in general. I just wonder what your feelings are with regard to the DP World Tour, the reports this week of potentially a deal being done that could have some kind of relationship with the PIF or with LIV, would that be in any way desirable in your opinion to in some way find a pathway out of this?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, you know, if things don’t materialise with the PGA TOUR, I think it would — you know, it would — I think it would maybe bring The European Tour back to like the ’80s and ’90s when there was like really two strong tours.

But it keeps the game divided and I don’t like that. You know, I really want the game to come back together. It would be Plan B. It would be maybe an alternative to the best solution.

And look, selfishly as a European, it would be wonderful to get that investment and to use that money in the right way for this tour. But it still keeps the game divided, which I just can’t quite get on board with, and I’d love to see everything and everyone come back together.

Michael S. Kim: “Do I want a deal? My short answer is No but I don’t care much”

On X (Twitter), PGA Tour pro Michael S. Kim was among those reacting to Rory McIlroy’s press conference. Kim, who is hardly known on the PGA Tour, now has almost 126,000 followers on X. The reason for this comparatively high number is his entertaining posts on the platform and his insights into life as a professional golfer. He wrote about McIlroy’s press conference: “Do I want a deal? My short answer is No but I don’t care much.” The 31-year-old explained that, in his opinion, a deal would only affect the top 30 golfers in the world anyway and would not have a major impact on the other players on the tours. He also doubted that the return of some LIV players to tournaments on the PGA Tour would have little impact on spectator numbers and therefore the financial aspect. A more sensible focus would be to improve the TV broadcasts.

Do I want a deal?
My short answer is No but I don’t care much.

Whether the tour and LIV make a deal or not, it will not affect my bottom line. It won’t change my schedule in the slightest bit and won’t change my earnings. This realistically only affects the top 30ish golfers on… https://t.co/ReOQTyRYOa

— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) September 18, 2024