Following the biggest event on the PGA Tour, with Scottie Scheffler winning the 2024 Masters Tournament, reports have surfaced that Rory McIlroy could leave the Tour behind for a record-breaking deal to join LIV Golf that would dramatically impact the sort.
McIlroy, age 34, has been opposed to joining LIV for several years. While he has since admitted to being ‘too judgmental‘ of his fellow players who initially defected to LIV Golf when the tour launched, he has still made it clear in recent months that he doesn’t want to be a part of it.
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- Rory McIlroy net worth (Forbes): $80.8 million
During an interview with ESPN in March, McIlroy re-affirmed that he had no interest in leaving the PGA Tour for LIV. While he did have some frustrations over how long it’s taken the two sides to come together on a pact, his ties to golf’s traditions made leaving for LIV out of the question.
“It’s not for me. I’m too much of a traditionalist, I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing that Sam Snead won this trophy or Ben Hogan or Gene Sarazen or Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player, Tiger Woods or Nick Faldo, whoever it is, the people that came before me. That to me is a big deal in our game.”
Rory McIlroy to ESPN earlier this year on potential interest in joining LIV Golf (H/T Golfweek.com)
However, there appears to be a chance things have changed. According to City A.M. a popular business-focused newspaper in England, McIlroy is in talks with LIV Golf on a deal that would be the largest ever for a golfer.
Related: Rory McIlroy fined $3 million by PGA Tour
City A.M. reported over the weekend that the two sides are ‘close’ on an agreement that would pay McIlroy $850 million. In addition to receiving nearly $1 million from the PIF, a sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia worth more than $900 billion, McIlroy would also receive a 2 percent stake in LIV.
McIlroy’s deal would easily top the largest LIV contracts. As of 2024, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson received $125 million, Brooks Koepka was paid $130 million, Phil Mickelson landed $200 million and Jon Rahm has the largest LIV deal ever at $300 million.
If the reporting by City A.M. is true, McIlroy ($850 million) would be receiving nearly as much as Rahm, Mickelson, Koepka and Johnson combined ($880 million). The ownership stake in LIV would also allow him to clear $900 million in a deal, which could allow him to become just the second billionaire golfer ever alongside Tiger Woods.
City A.M. has stood by its reporting, though, Ed Carruthers of Daily Mail Sports reported that sources close to McIlroy have denied him considering a deal with LIV Golf. McIlroy is next scheduled to play at RBC Heritage, where just a year ago he was fined $3 million by the PGA for not participating in.
