‘Loose lips sink ships’: Rory McIlroy coy on PGA Tour and LIV Golf negotiations
European No1 Rory McIlroy insists top-secret talks over the proposed unification of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf must remain under wraps for now.
A framework agreement that brought an end to more than a year of bitter wrangling was announced out of the blue in June, stunning all but a handful of insiders.
As a player director on the PGA Tour, McIlroy is now in that inner circle and optimistic of a resolution but unwilling to expand on discussions until then.
“I think if you were in the middle of it, you would see that there’s a path forward,” he said.
“It’s just that no one on the outside has any details. Loose lips sink ships, so we are trying to keep it tight and within walls. I’m sure when there’s news to tell, it will be told.”
Plans to flesh out the agreement to merge the commercial interests of the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf, as well as the European circuit, by the end of the year look in doubt.
McIlroy wants a swift conclusion but warned that it could still be scuppered by US competition watchdogs.
“I think getting something done sooner rather than later is a good thing. Because you know, even if we get a deal done, it doesn’t mean that it’s actually going to happen,” he said.
“That’s up to the United States government at that point and whether the Department of Justice thinks it’s the right thing to do. We are just going to have to wait and see. But in my opinion, the faster something gets done, the better.”
McIlroy is in Dubai for this week’s DP World Tour Championship, where he is already assured of being crowned Europe’s order of merit winner for a fifth time.
Asked to rate a season that featured two wins, a career-best Ryder Cup performance and a runner-up spot at the US Open, he gave it seven out of 10.
“If I looked back on one thing, I’ll rue that miss at LA. I had a great opportunity there to pick up another major and I didn’t,” he said.
“But I’m still not going to let that take away from the fact that it’s been another really consistent, solid year with some really good performances. I feel like my game is in as good a shape as it’s ever been.”