Rory McIlroy is trying to chase down Eugenio Chacarra and Patrick Reed this week, as the world's No. 2 golfer looks to win his eighth Race to Dubai title and tie Colin Montgomerie for the most all-time.
McIlroy spoke with media Wednesday at Yas Links ahead of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship and was asked myriad questions, from his safety in the Middle East to his chase for eight. But McIlroy's most revealing comments perhaps came when asked about a recent interview regarding the DP World Tour's decision to ban LIV players, or those who sign on with the league fighting for survival, in 2027.
In an interview with The Scotsman, Guy Kinnings, the CEO of the DP World Tour, said LIV Golf's goal was to destroy the DP World Tour. The tour's decision
to ban LIV players from membership and competing in 2027 was the tour putting its foot down and drawing a line in the sand.
"But we also have to protect the Tour against an entity who spent, so we are told, over $7 billion, with one of their aims being to ‘destroy the DP World Tour.' I have heard that from so many different people they talked to, who I have known for over 30 years within the game and who I trust implicitly," Kinnings told The Scotsman.
"Clearly when you are faced with statements like that, and then people then ask why we are doing what we are doing with our membership and invite policy for 2027, then I think the answer becomes pretty obvious. Myself and everyone at the DP World Tour have a duty to our members to protect our Tour. We are proud of that and are proud that we treat everyone who works for the Tour, whether that be staff, suppliers, contractors, everyone, with respect and dignity. We pay them and pay them on time. We look out for everyone.
“Our Tour that has been in existence for over 50 years and it stands for everything that is good, right and proper in the game is worth fighting for and that is precisely what we have done and what we will continue to do.”
On Wednesday after his practice round, McIlroy was asked about Kinnings' comments, and he has a similar thoughts to Kinnings.
"I agree with everything that Guy said," McIlroy said. "They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race. They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy The European Tour."
There has been no news on the LIV front since Oct. 30, the date BC Partners extended to receive enough player commitments before deciding whether to give $300 million for the league to operate, albeit on a much smaller basis, in 2027. Publicly, there has been a much higher majority of players saying they were moving on from the league than those who have pledged their allegiance to LIV 2.0.
But if what McIlroy said was true, that LIV was parading around Augusta National, banging its chest and saying it wanted to destroy the DP World Tour to ultimately serve as its "replacement," the DP World Tour's decisions in recent weeks make even more sense.
"I think people that don't agree are probably very shortsighted," McIlroy continued. "Look, there was some of the money that they used the right way, created the International Series on The Asian Tour, great for a couple years, but where did that leave the Asian Tour? They left them high and dry. Asian Tour came back into the fold. Did a partnership with the PGA Tour and The European Tour. Again, this was always going to be the case. 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, or they were going to leave the golf space and go invest in something else and invest in something that would actually make them money.
"I think for long-term sustainability for men's professional golf, I think we are in a much better spot."
The future of LIV Golf remains up in the air. Those with knowledge of the league's plans for LIV 2.0 continue to say the league is progressing toward its new chapter.
But as for destroying the DP World Tour? That was never going to happen.
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy agrees with claim that LIV Golf 'wanted to destroy The European Tour'
