NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Rory McIlroy on Tuesday, ahead of this week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink, admitted he was “glad’’ to be “wrong’’ about LIV Golf.
McIlroy, in the beginning of the LIV invasion four years ago as they poached players from the PGA Tour with the seemingly endless supply of Saudi Public Investment Fund coffers, had been an advocate of the PGA Tour making a deal with LIV.
Asked Tuesday if he was surprised about the recent news that the Saudis are ceasing their funding in the maverick tour at the end of the 2026 season, McIlroy admitted his mistake.
“I’m glad I was wrong,’’ McIlroy said. “I can admit when I’m wrong, and that was one that I did get wrong.’’
McIlroy, fresh off winning his second consecutive Masters in April, said he thought “it was always a possibility’’ that the Saudi investment in LIV would dry up.
“Look, I think everyone knows, with everything that’s happening in the Middle East, that had a lot to do (with the Saudi decision). 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 … that was always a possibility. I feel like a lot of us in this room, including me … we almost knew before the (LIV) players did that this was going to happen. I was hearing about this back in March, April time.
“I have friends over there. One of my best friends, Ricky (McCormick), caddies for Tom McKibbin, who’s over there. And I would talk to him all the time about what was going on. I was saying to Ricky, even before Mexico (when the news broke about the Saudis pulling the funding), ‘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 blind sided by it,’’ McIlroy went on. “But again, that’s the risk that those guys chose to take. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the air right now.’’
Asked if he has any “sense’’ for LIV’s prospects for survival beyond 2026 as its CEO, Scott O’Neil and his team hunt for new investors, McIlroy said, “I don’t. I’m not privy to the deals they have. I guess from what I read they’ve got some sponsorship revenue for I don’t know how long those commitments are.
“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.’’