A Grand Slam-sealing triumph for Rory McIlroy could be the catalyst to restart talks about healing the wounds caused by LIV Golf’s rivalry with Rory’s PGA Tour
Rory McIlroy’s dramatic win at Augusta was not just a victory for one of the greatest talents the sport has ever seen, it was a victory for the PGA tour. It was a victory for those golfers who did not take – or were not offered – the Saudi dollar.
Make no mistake, Bryson DeChambeau’s final day demise was a hammer blow to LIV Golf. Just as McIlroy has been the poster boy of the PGA Tour for a long while now, DeChambeau has been LIV Golf’s standard-bearer.
LIV Golf’s main warrior was put to the sword by the PGA Tour’s main warrior who, according to DeChambeau, did not even speak to him during a tumultuous final day. But a change in the stand-off between golf’s two richest bodies could be amongst the many ramifications of the sort of epic sporting day that does not come around very often.
After such a momentous Major, how can golf not now redouble its efforts to heal its deep wounds? Yes, McIlroy’s triumph was a boost for the PGA Tour but it was not a disastrous tournament for the LIV golfers who were invited to play.
DeChambeau’s final round 75 might have seen him slip to a tie for fifth but Patrick Reed finished third while Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson and Tyrell Hatton were amongst those tied for 14th. Only 12 golfers from the Saudi-owned LIV tour teed it up at Augusta, with seven of them invited back as Masters champions.
In 2023, it was announced that a framework agreement had been reached between the two organisations (and the DP World Tour) and that some form of reunification was in the pipeline. There were suggestions that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), would get a deal done.
Rory McIlroy receives the Green Jacket from fellow PGA Tour player Scottie Scheffler ( Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
But since then, virtually nothing. That was until, slightly bizarrely, Donald Trump appeared to be trying to broker a deal.
“We have just concluded a constructive working session at the White House with President Trump and his excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan,” said a statement from Monahan and PGA Tour playing directors Tiger Woods and Adam Scott in late February. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, we have initiated a discussion about the reunification of golf. We are committed to moving as quickly as possible.”
But again, since then, virtually nothing. McIlroy has emphatically denied he was offered a staggering £645million deal to join LIV but the money on offer from the tour owned by the Saudis remains eye-watering.
Two-time major winner Jon Rahm signed a LIV contract believed to be worth around £300million in late 2023. But the fracture in the sport has meant – and still means – that all of the world’s best golfers rarely get to compete in the same tournament.
As at the Masters, there are LIV golfers at the other three majors – the US Open, the US PGA and The Open. But they would argue that members of their tour do not get a fair entry deal because of a world ranking system that does not recognise them.
All in all, there remains a painful split in elite golf that means the sort of showdown that happened on Sunday between McIlroy and DeChambeau can happen only rarely. So, the hope must be that the incredible Rory-inspired drama at Augusta might even heal golf.
