Rory McIlroy was the most outspoken critic of LIV Golf from the beginning.
He didn’t believe in what they were doing. He didn’t like how it impacted the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
McIlroy wasn’t afraid to share his opinions on LIV Golf — which were almost all negative — from the moment the breakaway tour began.
This week, McIlroy has been asked a bunch about LIV Golf already, because that competition is officially ceasing. They’ve filed for bankruptcy. They’re going to get their finances in order and then disappear for good.
And now, it’s possible to look back at a McIlroy quote from three years ago and say simply: Rory was right.
Rory McIlroy Predicted LIV Golf’s Demise
In June 2023 at the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy was asked about LIV. This is what he said:
“I still hate LIV. Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away, and I would fully expect that it does. I think that’s where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF — very different from LIV.”
He both hoped, and expected, that LIV Golf would go away.
Maybe McIlroy didn’t see it lasting through 2026, but in the end, he was right about the most important detail.
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour will no longer have to compete with LIV Golf.
Rory Was Already Thinking About Punishment
McIlroy was also asked back then what he felt about players returning to the PGA Tour and said this:
“There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this tour, started litigation against it. Like, we can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen.”
Players are facing a one-year suspension from the last time they played in a LIV Golf event.
Rory McIlroy’s Latest LIV Golf Quote
The most fascinating thing that McIlroy said before playing in Abu Dhabi this week was probably this:
“It was always going to be good for a few years until something like this happened, or they realized they weren’t going to get any return on investment… I think for long-term sustainability for men’s professional golf, I think we are in a much better spot.”
LIV Golf’s biggest public-facing critic has seen the league he didn’t believe in die out. Now, it’ll be up to McIlroy and the PGA Tour to repair any damage, figure out what to do with returning golfers and push their sport forward after the split.
Rory McIlroy Was Right About LIV Golf