Rory McIlroy expresses doubts about LIV Golf’s future and comments on former players returning to the PGA Tour.
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy raised questions about the long-term future of the LIV Golf League during a 60-minute podcast episode of the ‘Stick to Football’ series on the English channel The Overlap, released Friday. The league is funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). McIlroy discussed his general stance on LIV Golf and explained why he personally has no connection to the league. He also addressed the possibility of former PGA Tour players returning to the tour.
The five-time major champion and one of LIV Golf’s sharpest critics since its launch in 2022 speculated that the PIF might consider shutting down the newly established league entirely if the project does not yield profits long term. McIlroy said, ‘I don’t know, but if LIV fails to excite fans and they’ve invested so much money into this project without returns, 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 had generated around half a billion euros in sponsorship revenue over the past ten months, it remains unclear when profits might emerge. The newsletter ‘Money in Sport’ forecasted in May 2025 that PIF’s investments in LIV would reach five billion US dollars by the end of 2025. Furthermore, reports from October revealed the British branch of the league incurred a total loss of 1.1 billion US dollars between its inception and the end of 2024, with 450 million US dollars lost in 2024 alone.
McIlroy: ‘I Dislike 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 division. Last time on this podcast, I said I may have been too quick to judge the guys who went there, as not everyone is in the same position as me,’ McIlroy said and added, ‘When you are offered double the money for the same work, it’s hard to say no.’
At the same time, McIlroy believes LIV Golf has yet to find lasting appeal among fans and viewers but acknowledged the league contains some positive elements. Calling himself a ‘traditionalist,’ he suggested this perspective might limit his thinking. Still, he remarked, ‘They came in saying, ‘We will be different, we will be this, we