Rory McIlroy amid LIV crisis: 'Glad I was wrong' on PGA Tour-PIF deal - ESPN

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy once urged the PGA Tour to come to an agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to reunify men's professional golf.

On Tuesday, McIlroy admitted it would have been the wrong choice for the PGA Tour.

«I'm glad I was wrong,» McIlroy said during a news conference ahead of this week's PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. «I can admit when I'm wrong, and that was one that I did get wrong.»

On April 30, the PIF announced that it will no longer fund the LIV Golf League beyond this season. The PIF has purportedly spent more than $5 billion funding the breakaway circuit since its inception in June 2022.

The sovereign wealth fund said in a statement April 30 that the sizable investment in LIV Golf «is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF's investment strategy.»

The PIF is backing away from other international sports ventures and focusing on domestic programs, in part because of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

«I think it was always a possibility to happen,» McIlroy said. «Look, I think everyone knows with everything that's happening in the Middle East, that had a lot to do [with the PIF's decision]. But whenever you have funding tied so much to the geopolitical landscape in the world, that's a tricky road to navigate.

»The PIF's priorities shifted, and that leaves LIV in a pretty precarious spot."

Before the 2025 Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, McIlroy said it was time for golfers and executives from both sides «to get over it.»

Outgoing PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 4, 2025, in an effort to speed up the federal government's