More than two years have passed since the PGA Tour and LIV Golf agreed to a framework, but stars on both sides of the aisle say professional golf’s reunification still seems a long way off.
In a conversation with CNBC’s CEO Council Forum, Rory McIlroy, who has been a strong advocate for the return of professional golf, was not optimistic about the status of the agreement between the two sides.
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“I think it would be better for golf in general to have uniformity,” McIlroy said. “But I think it’s going to be very difficult to achieve that given what’s happened in the last few years.”
Bryson DeChambeau also doesn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. The two-time US Open champion believes the relationship between the two sides is strong and it will take time for them to make real moves to pull back into the game.
“I hope something big happens, but I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon. I think there’s too much desire on both sides and not enough concessions on the other side,” DeChambeau said in a recent interview with Fox News.
“We are too far apart in many ways. It will take time, but I believe that ultimately the game of golf will grow internationally.”
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Back in February, McIlroy implored players on both sides of the divide to put aside their differences and understand that they had benefited financially from the fracture and that it was time to get the game back on track.
“Whether you stay on the PGA Tour or you leave, we’ve all benefited from this,” McIlroy said at the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. “I’ve put this on record many times. This week, we’re playing for a $20 million prize fund. If LIV hadn’t come, that would never have happened. I think everyone has to get through this, and I think, okay, this is the star. We’re at that point, and I think we just have to move forward. We don’t look back. We don’t look back. Whatever happens, it’s unfortunate, but it’s about reunion and how we get back together. That’s what’s best for everyone.
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“Who cares if people get their butts hurt or their feelings hurt because of players leaving or whatever? Let’s move forward together. And let’s get this thing back on track and do what’s best for the game.”
McIlroy’s plea to unify the game included a reasonable reminder that it would be financially beneficial in the long run for players who left LIV to return. After Strategic Sports Group invested $1.5 billion in the newly formed PGA Tour Enterprise last January, players were given equity grants in the business with an eight-year vesting period. As McIlroy pointed out, if the PGA Tour had the best players in the world, the value of the business and their stock would rise.
“They have the same right to be on this tour as we do,” McIlroy said. “It’s good to have Bryson DeChambeau back and play on this tour.”
When LIV first appeared on the scene and made an impact on the professional game, McIlroy was the voice at the forefront of the PGA Tour’s battle against the Saudi-backed league. Although McIlroy still believes that the advent of LIV has had a negative impact on the health of the professional game, he believes that everyone has benefited from the fracture and that professional golf cannot continue in a broken state.
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“It didn’t feel like that at first because of the fracture,” McIlroy said. “It wasn’t good for the game. It wasn’t good for the game as a whole. It wasn’t good for either tour, I don’t think we both felt this was great for a major championship. Major championships bring everyone together and that’s really good. But it’s unsustainable for either tour.”
In February, the two sides appeared close to an agreement, but the tone changed in March, and things have been quiet since then.
Since then, LIV Golf has reapplied for Official World Golf Ranking points, changed to 72 holes, and adjusted Q-School to add new qualifying routes.
The change to 72 holes was made with coveted OWGR points in mind, but it left McIlroy scratching his head.
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“I think it’s a strange move because I think they could have picked up ranking points with three rounds,” McIlroy said earlier this month at the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. “I don’t think the third round versus the fourth round held them back.
“It certainly puts them more in line with traditional golf tournaments than what we’ve all been doing. It puts them back where they’re not really disruptors and more in line with what everyone else is doing. But if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get ranking points, I think that’s what they had to do.”
The LIV changes show the breakaway league is full steam ahead under new CEO Scott O’Neill and has no intention of going anywhere.
Neither McIlroy nor DeChambeau believe this grand plan to unify golf will be the driving force behind it, but DeChambeau is hopeful that over time the world of golf will eventually get back on track.
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“I’m not going to speak for anyone, but I think the game will improve over time,” DeChambeau told Fox News. “This is a positive disruption and it will take time to calm the situation and create the perfect scenario for us all to come together again.
“Ultimately, I think it will be good for the game over time.”
The post “Very difficult: Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau not optimistic about PGA Tour and LIV deal” appeared first on Golf.
