Rory McIlroy has made his feelings clear ahead his interactions with two of the most powerful men in golf – LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan – this week
Rory McIlroy says the game of golf “needs” to change in a plea to PGA Tour and LIV Golf bosses ahead of this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
Rarely for the four-time major champion, McIlroy is arguably not the headline attraction at the tournament this week – which is played across St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan are in the field for the pro-am event, and will even play together on Thursday alongside professional partners Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester.
Monahan and Al-Rumayyan will also play rounds with McIlroy during the tournament. The Ulsterman playing with the governor of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) would have seemed a farfetched prospect not too long ago, given McIlroy was among LIV Golf’s staunchest critics when it launched in 2022.
But the plates of the golf world have shifted dramatically since, with PIF and the PGA Tour set to become allies after striking a “framework agreement” over a merger last year, with the hope of enabling players from the rival tours to compete against each other more often.
Talks have dragged on since, though, and ahead of his showdown with Monahan and Al-Rumayyan, McIlroy has urged both men to ensure a deal gets over the line as soon as possible.
“There’s no better place than the home of golf to get everyone together and talking,” McIlroy told BBC Northern Ireland. “I think it’s a great thing and a good sign that Jay and Yasir are going to play together on Thursday, and you’ve got quite a big contingent from LIV that are playing this event.
McIlroy is scheduled to play with Al-Rumayyan on Saturday ( Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
“It’s a matter of trying to get all the different constituents on board because I think the sponsors want the same thing. I think everyone just wants to see the game of golf come back together and have all of the best players playing together.
“And try to make it a bit more global, as well. I think there are a lot of people on board with that and it’s just a matter of trying to work through the various sort of complicated issues that there are to try to get it done.
“I think we all understand it’s not easy and I think change, for the most part in golf, is resisted because it’s such a traditional sport. But I think at this point in time, change is needed to try and drive the game forward and hopefully we can get to that point.”
McIlroy, 35, has been at the forefront of merger negotiations between the tours as a member of the PGA Tour’s transaction committee alongside Tiger Woods and Adam Scott. With a prestigious tournament to be won, however, it is unlikely he will engage in too much business talk with Monahan or Al-Rumayyan when the event gets underway.
McIlroy is partnered by his father, Gerry, at the pro-am event and they will play alongside LIV Golf star Louis Oosthuizen and Johann Rupert – tournament host and Africa’s richest man – in the opening round at Carnoustie on Thursday. The following day, he will tee it up with Monahan and Horschel at Kingsbarns before taking on the iconic Old Course on Saturday in the same group as Al-Rumayyan and Burmester.
