Rory McIlroy hopes to see LIV Golf and PGA Tour stars play together more than just 'four times a year'

Rory McIlroy has been a very common face in the negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). The Northern Irishman has had changes of stances, but his opinion on the issue holds great significance.

McIlroy was a guest on the most recent broadcast of Golf Monthly's Beyond the Clubhouse podcast. During the show, he discussed the negotiations, just a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of the official announcement of the so-called “framework agreement” (June 6).

Rory McIlroy reiterated his belief in the need to find a solution to eliminate the current divide in men's professional golf. He went so far as to comment on the time remaining to achieve this.

"It's created this divide in the game, which is unfortunate, but - hopefully - in the future we can all come back together," Rory McIlroy said. "That would be great for everyone - great for the players, great for the fans, great for everyone involved in golf. We see it four times a year, but I think we need to see it a few more times than that." [1:42 - 1:58]

He added:

"2026, if that means we've just got a year-and-a-half left of this and 2026 looks a little different, I actually think that's a pretty good timeline considering all of the things that have to be worked out." [2:18 - 2:31]

Rory McIlroy is in Muirfield Village Golf Club this week to participate at the Memorial Tournament beginning Thursday, June 6. A week later, he will play in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

Reviewing Rory McIlroy's role in PGA Tour-PIF negotiations

When LIV Golf was founded with the financial support of PIF (2022), Rory McIlroy was one of the player directors of the PGA Tour. At the time, the Northern Irishman was one of the most vocal players against the breakaway league.

As the months went by, McIlroy radicalized his stance on the matter, going so far as to say that he “hated LIV Golf” and that if this was the last place to play golf professionally, he would retire.

"It's not LIV. That's the thing. I still hate LIV," McIlroy said in June 2023, according to Golf Digest. "Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away, and I would fully expect that it does."

Following the announcement of the so-called “framework agreement” between the PGA Tour and PIF, McIlroy kept offering such views for a few months. However, in November he surprisingly resigned from his position as Player Director, claiming that he wanted to concentrate on his playing career.

Days later, there was the announcement that Jon Rahm had signed on to play for LIV Golf. At the time, McIlroy advocated removing restrictions for European players in the Greg Norman-led league to play in the Ryder Cup.

Finally, in early 2024, McIlroy participated in the “Stick to Football” podcast where he made public a radical change of heart about LIV Golf. He said he would "love" to see this league adopt a format similar to the Indian Premier League (Criket).

This is part of McIlroy said on the topic:

“What I would love LIV to turn into is almost like the Indian Premier League of golf. The IPL in cricket, they take two months during the calendar, you have four weeks in May and four weeks in November, and you go and do this team stuff – it’s a bit different, and it’s a different format.

From then until now, McIlroy has repeatedly called for agreements that would allow the reunification of men's professional golf.