Miami (AFP) – Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that a deal to reunify golf does not feel any closer despite a flurry of recent meetings between the rival PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations between the two circuits had risen after President Donald Trump hosted PGA and LIV golf leaders at a White House meeting last month. However, despite optimism following that meeting and an earlier White House summit, McIlroy said Tuesday that a deal did not feel imminent.
“I don’t think it’s ever felt that close, but it doesn’t feel like it’s any closer,” McIlroy told a press conference on Wednesday ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Bill in Florida. McIlroy had been one of the staunchest critics of LIV Golf after it was launched in 2022, luring a slew of star names from the PGA Tour with lavish signing fees and tournament purses. The Northern Irishman’s attitude has softened since the PGA unveiled a framework agreement with LIV’s Saudi financiers in 2023, with McIlroy saying recently that PGA Tour players need to “get over it” for the good of golf.
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However, on Tuesday, McIlroy suggested the progress towards reunification had reached an impasse in recent weeks. “Look, I think it takes two to tango,” McIlroy said. “So if one party is willing and ready and the other isn’t, it sort of makes it tough.” McIlroy was also adamant that the PGA Tour could continue to operate successfully even without a deal that would bring the sport’s top players together outside of majors.
“I think the narrative around golf, I wouldn’t say needs a deal, I think the narrative around golf would welcome a deal in terms of just having all the best players together again,” McIlroy said. “But I don’t think the PGA TOUR needs a deal. I think the momentum is pretty strong…the landscape might have looked a little different then than it does now over these past couple of weeks, and I think a deal would still be the ideal scenario for golf as a whole. But from a pure PGA Tour perspective, I don’t think it necessarily needs it.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, meanwhile, has said there were no further meetings planned between the leaders of the rival circuits following last month’s White House sit-down. However, Monahan remains optimistic that a deal will eventually be brokered, describing the meeting at the White House as a “huge step.”
“I think anything that I’ve said …is consistent with what should be said when you’re in the middle of a complex discussion to try and reunify the game of golf,” Monahan said. “It doesn’t speak to my confidence level, it speaks to the moment. I view that meeting as a huge step and so I look at that very positively.”
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