Rory McIlroy says PGA and LIV must resist ‘splitting the game’ as tensions continue to escalate between the competing tours

Rory McIlroy has been one of the sharpest critics of LIV Golf since the Saudi-backed upstart league began poaching players away from the PGA Tour. As one of the faces of the legacy organization, not to mention one of the best players in the world, McIlroy and his opinions carried extra weight, whether calling out former Tour members for being dishonest with their plans to jump to LIV, or trolling Greg Norman , the man in charge of the new league, on the 18th green of his latest victory. But speaking with BBC Sport at this week’s Scottish Open, McIlroy appeared to have softened his stance on where things currently stand in the golf world.

“I wish it hadn’t gotten that messy,” McIlroy said. “In hindsight I think there were probably steps that were missed that wouldn’t have made it as messy. ” McIlroy went as far as to say that the emergence of LIV Golf might not be entirely a bad thing for the sport in the long run.

“I think in the long term it will make the game better, but right now there’s just this disruption that’s happening and with disruption comes change, and forced change,” he said. “I think this has forced the Tour’s hand a little bit, and they have to adapt and change. ” Asked about the potential for peace talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), and LIV Golf, McIlory was open to the idea.

“I think that needs to happen,” McIlroy said. “There’s so much chat about where the money’s coming from and Saudi and everything else, but they sponsor so many other things. They’re all over sport.

“I understand people’s reservations with everything, but at the same time, if these people are serious about investing billions of dollars into golf, I think ultimately that’s a good thing,” he said. “But it has to be done the right way, and I think if they were to invest, having it be invested inside the existing structures. And I think that’s the thing I’ve tried to advocate for the last few months — I think at this point, if people are wanting to spend that much money into golf, that’s wonderful; I just wish that we could have spent that much money within the structure that has existed for many decades in golf instead of being a big disruptor.

“At the end of the day, I said it will sort itself out, and everyone has to pivot and change and try to adapt and be better, and hopefully we get to that stage,” he continued. “But right now, it’s sort of messy and all the narrative isn’t good. It’s splitting the game instead of everyone coming together, and I think everyone has to try and come together a little bit more.

” Given that McIlroy has been as vocal as any athlete in golf about his distaste for LIV Golf since the league first started up, his statement at the Scottish Open is a noticeable departure from his previous stance. That could be a result of two realities regarding LIV Golf that have become clearer in recent weeks. First, LIV Golf doesn’t appear to be going anywhere .

The new league now has two events under its belt after last week’s tournament outside of Portland, and has added more players from the PGA Tour with each passing week. LIV has also announced plans for 14 scheduled events next year, and given the essentially limitless financial backing of the Saudi government , LIV Golf seems to have the plans and the resources to ensure that it won’t just disappear. Second, tensions between players on both sides have been reaching new heights.

While LIV players were initially set to be banned from the field at the Scottish Open, a judge granted a stay of suspension , allowing four LIV athletes to make their way into the field this week. Meanwhile, PGA Tour pro Billy Horschel tore into some of his peers that had made the jump to the new league in his pre-tournament press conference. “Leave us alone, honestly,” Horshel said of those that went to LIV.

“The last week’s events I’ve been really frustrated by because there are a lot of guys that are hypocrites that are not telling the truth and lying about some things that I just can’t stand to sit here anymore and be diplomatic anymore about it as I have been in the past. ” Given how hot the temperatures had gotten between the two sides, it’s possible McIlroy saw this as a chance to de-escalate the bitterness between sides. .