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Talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf, have been ongoing since the signing of a framework agreement in June 2023. McIlroy welcomed the optimism about finally agreeing a deal which emerged from the latest discussions in New York last week, but knows any such deal will be subject to scrutiny from the DOJ, which has already forced a non-solicitation clause to be removed from the framework agreement. Asked what the biggest stumbling blocks to a deal were, McIlroy said: “Department of Justice.
Maybe different interests from the players’ side. “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. 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. “I think when you have a members-run organisation it complicates things a little bit, especially when some of those players are having to make decisions on the business side of things.
“I think the tours want it to happen. The investors certainly want it to happen because they can see the benefit for themselves. “It seems like the people that are really making the decisions are all rowing in the same direction, which is a really good thing [but] 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 from what I hear there’s optimism there, and that’s good to see.” If no deal is done an alternative for the DP World Tour would be to come to an agreement directly with the Saudis, which would provide welcome investment and increased prize funds. “If things don’t materialise with the PGA Tour, I think it would maybe bring the European Tour back to like the ’80s and ’90s when there was like really two strong tours,” McIlroy added.
“But it keeps the game divided and I don’t like that. It would be Plan B. It would be maybe an alternative to the best solution.
“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.”.
