Since LIV Golf launched in 2022, Rory McIlroy has shifted his stance multiple times—first blaming the breakaway circuit for fracturing professional golf, then softening toward players who joined, and eventually advocating for a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV. But the six-time major champion admitted Tuesday that his latest prediction was off the mark.
“I can admit when I’m wrong, and that was one that I did get wrong,” McIlroy told reporters at Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia ahead of the PGA Championship.
May 8, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Rory McIlroy eyes his line on 18 during the second round of the Truist Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
LIV Golf remains operational, but last month it was confirmed that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund—the league’s primary financial backer—will stop funding at the end of the 2026 season. A planned June event in New Orleans was postponed and may be rescheduled for the fall outside the official calendar. PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan is also stepping down as LIV’s chairman as Saudi Arabia shifts its spending priorities amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
McIlroy stated Tuesday that while he had heard rumors for weeks, LIV players appeared to be blindsided by the Saudi withdrawal.
“Look, I think everyone knows like with everything that’s happening in the Middle East, that had a lot to do. But whenever you have funding tied so much to the geopolitical landscape in the world, that’s a tricky road to navigate,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, their priorities shifted, and that leaves LIV in a pretty precarious spot, but again, that was always—it was always a possibility. I feel like a lot of us in this room, including me, we almost knew before the players did that this was going to happen. Like I was hearing about this back in March, April time.”
McIlroy isn’t speaking without sources. One of his closest friends from Northern Ireland, Ricky McCormick, caddies for Tom McKibbin, a young compatriot playing on the LIV circuit.
“I would talk to (McCormick) all the time about what was going on,” McIlroy said. “I was saying to Ricky, even before Mexico, ‘Have you guys heard any of this stuff?’ He was like, ‘No, everything seems OK over here.’ It just feels like the rug was pulled from under their feet and everyone was sort of blindsided by it. But again, that’s the risk that those guys chose to take. As I said, it leaves—there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air right now.”
McIlroy offered little insight into LIV Golf’s future once the PIF funding dries up.
“I’m not privy to the deals they have,” he said. “I guess from what I read they’ve got some sponsorship revenue for I don’t know how long that those commitments are. Look, if they do somehow get a schedule together for next year, it seems like it’s going to look drastically different to what it’s looked like over the last four years.”
Eleven LIV Golf members, including McKibbin and major champions Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, are present at the PGA Championship this week. Rahm is scheduled to speak with reporters later Tuesday morning.
McIlroy enters the PGA Championship fresh off his second consecutive Masters victory and previewed Aronimink earlier this spring.
“I think there’s an argument to maybe not having these signature events the week before majors or the weeks after majors to allow guys to maybe prep for the major championships a little bit better,” McIlroy said. “But I definitely think courses we don’t see very often … it certainly has benefited me over the years. I remember the first time I did it for a major championship was (the U.S. Open at) Congressional in 2011 on the back of a recommendation from Jack Nicklaus. So it’s helped me over the years. Some majors, I haven’t went to the tournament site ahead of schedule, and I’ve done well, but for the most part when I have made an advanced trip, it’s worked out well for me.”
