Rory McIlroy Agrees LIV Golf Tried to 'Destroy' DP World Tour

Rory McIlroy said Wednesday he agrees with DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings' recent claim that LIV Golf set out to destroy the DP World Tour, and separately argued that rising pro golf purses need to come back down to sustainable levels.

Kinnings told The Scotsman last week that LIV Golf spent more than $7 billion with the stated aim of damaging the DP World Tour, citing conversations with people inside the game. McIlroy, speaking in his pre-tournament press conference at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, said LIV's leadership had told people at the Masters this year that destroying the European Tour was exactly the goal.

What did McIlroy say about LIV's impact on pro golf?

McIlroy said LIV's spending turned recruiting and prize money into an “arms race” across men's professional golf, pulling away players and sponsors in the process. He pointed to the Asian Tour's short-lived partnership with LIV's International Series as an example of a tour left worse off once LIV's financial backing dried up; the Asian Tour has since partnered with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour instead.

They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race.

McIlroy also said LIV's arrival gave players outsized leverage over tours and governing bodies, and argued that the resulting purse inflation across men's professional golf amounts to a “false economy” that isn't sustainable long-term. He said he expects purses to level off rather than keep climbing.

Where does this leave McIlroy's season?

McIlroy enters the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship second in the Race to Dubai standings, needing a strong finish over the tour's final two events to catch leader Eugenio Chacarra. He tees off Thursday paired with Patrick Reed and Jon Rahm, both former LIV players now competing on the DP World Tour.