Rory McIlroy: LIV Golf was ‘half of a good idea that was executed pretty poorly’

LIV was backed by the cash of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), lured major players such as Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau away from the PGA Tour but stopped the financial support earlier this year.

McIlroy was offered huge financial incentives at the time to join the breakaway league, but refused and decided to give his full backing to the to the traditional game.

Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy forum in New Delhi where he is set to compete in the in the DP World India Championship, McIlroy said: “LIV had probably like, half of a good idea that was executed pretty poorly.

“They had a lot of capital but I think a lot of that capital was wasted in some ways and I think they could have used that money a lot more strategically and could have partnered with some of the governing bodies of the game and certainly could have done better things with it instead of just enriching tour pros who were already making a lot of money.

“BC Partners have come in and seen an opportunity (but) it looks like every day that goes by there’s another player that was on LIV who is not going to join LIV 2.0 so I think it is going to be very difficult to get out of this Chapter 11 bankruptcy and go forward.

“But if they do it is certainly not going to be a threat to the traditional order of the game as it once was.”

The question now remains of the PGA Tour or the European equivalent will accept players back into the fold following their LIV journey.

“I’m sure some members who stayed loyal would feel hard done by if these guys can just walk straight back in but, on the other side, having these players back on the tour is good for business and it can drive revenues up and everyone can benefit from that,” added McIlroy.

“I would vote for them to come back. A rising tide lifts all boats and I think having some of these players back is beneficial for the business of the tours.”