"Very pointed in his message”: Rory McIlroy let slip that PGA & LIV officials remain disinterested in forming a deal, golf insider suggests

It's been over a year since the PIF-PGA Tour merger was announced, and Rory McIlroy reportedly seems to believe that the officials negotiating this deal don't actually want to see it through. Dan Rapaport, a reporter at Golf Digest, was asked recently on the Fore Play Plus podcast about the state of the merger.

Rapaport said:

"Rory was very pointed in his message this week where he said there seem to be some people who just aren't really gung-ho about getting a deal done. I think he said anyone who's concerned about golf or concerned about the PGA Tour moving forward has to be frustrated." (27:05-28:01)

Rapaport also said that the Saudis don't seem to be enjoying the long drawn-out nature of all of this. He said that "they've got so many other things that they want to do" that they certainly don't want to sit around in meetings all the time. Instead, they'd like to get out and put their money to use.

The golf reporter continued:

"I think what they can do to strengthen their position is to do exactly what they did last year and go after a Viktor Hovland or someone like that. They're gonna come again. Their season wraps up in two weeks or three weeks whatever."

The LIV season ends soon, and Rapaport said that once it does, LIV will ramp up trying to poach players from the PGA Tour again. Last year, they managed to land Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. This year, Rapaport believes someone like Viktor Hovland, with whom the LIV tour has had talks, could be on their radar.

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Rory McIlroy to face off with two LIV Golf stars

Today, Rory McIlroy is not the same person he was when LIV Golf first formed. For so long, he was arguably the face of the anti-LIV crowd in golf. He has since softened his stance, and he's much more supportive now.

Rory McIlroy will face off with two LIV Golf members (Imagn)

That has taken him all the way to this: the Irishman, along with Scottie Scheffler, is set to compete in a version of The Match that pits the two PGA players vs. two LIV Golf stars.

Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka will be on the other side, and it's a competition that Rory McIlroy called an "exciting duel." The golfer also said:

“This isn’t just a contest between some of golf’s major champions; it’s an event designed to energize the fans. We’re all here to put on a great show and contribute to a goodwill event that brings the best together again.”

The two worlds of golf will face off in December in Las Vegas. As it stands, the two sides are going to remain separate entities in the 2025 season, though the merger does actively press on through negotiations.