Rory McIlroy questions the future of LIV Golf and discusses possible returns to the PGA Tour in a recent podcast.
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy expressed doubts about the long-term prospects of the LIV Golf League during a more than 60-minute episode of the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast series on the English channel The Overlap, released last Friday. The league is funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). McIlroy shared his general stance on LIV Golf and explained why he feels no personal connection to the league. He also touched on the possibility of former PGA Tour players returning.
The five-time major champion and one of LIV Golf’s strongest critics since its inception in 2022 speculated that the PIF might consider shutting down the newly-founded league if it does not turn a profit in the long run. McIlroy said, ‘I don’t know, but if LIV can’t excite the fans, and they’ve invested so much money in this project without it paying off, I don’t know how much longer they can sustain it.’
Although LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil announced in late October 2025 that the league has raised around half a billion euros in sponsorships over the past ten months, it remains unclear when the league might become profitable. The newsletter ‘Money in Sport’ predicted in May 2025 that PIF’s investments could grow to five billion US dollars by the end of 2025. In October, it was also reported that LIV Golf’s UK branch had recorded a total loss of 1.1 billion US dollars between its launch and the end of 2024, with 450 million US dollars of that loss occurring in 2024 alone.
McIlroy: ‘I Don’t Like What LIV Golf Has Done to Our Sport’
‘I don’t like what LIV Golf has done to our sport because it has caused a massive divide. I said in the last podcast that I might have been a bit too quick to judge the guys who went there because not everyone’s in the same situation as I am,’ McIlroy said, adding, ‘When you’re offered double the money for the same work, it’s hard to say no.’
He also believes that LIV Golf has yet to gain lasting appeal among fans and viewers but noted that the league does have some positive aspects. Calling himself a ‘traditionalist,’ he suspects this influences his perspective. Nevertheless, he remarked, ‘They came in and said,