McIlroy backs DP World Tour allowing ex-members to return — SkimNews
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- DP World Tour will allow former members to return in 2027, drawing criticism from some golfers over LIV alumni Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia; Rory McIlroy backed the policy at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.
- LIV Golf spent more than $7 billion, according to Guy Kinnings, with one aim being to “destroy” the DP World Tour; McIlroy said people who disagreed with Kinnings were probably “very shortsighted.”
- PGA Tour provided more than $77 million to the DP World Tour to boost prize money in 2025, while the two organizations are working to extend their partnership, Kinnings said.
- Public Investment Fund pulled its funding from LIV Golf in April; Kinnings no longer viewed LIV as an existential threat, while CEO Scott O'Neil said a future LIV 2.0 would seek to “complete, not compete” with fewer tournaments and smaller purses.
- DP World Tour must decide whether to adjust prize money, reduce its tournament count or focus on the Rolex Series and national opens now that the PIF is no longer an existential threat, Kinnings said.
- Rory McIlroy called the LIV-and-PIF recruitment model a “false economy,” citing guaranteed contracts worth more than $100 million and $30 million purses in 2025, and argued tours need sustainable business practices to survive for 50 years.
Why it matters: For Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, the 2027 policy creates a route back to the DP World Tour, while Kinnings’ one-tour ultimatum keeps the tour’s exclusivity intact. The $77 million PGA Tour contribution to 2025 prize money and McIlroy’s contrast between contracts above $100 million and sustainable economics explain why he wants the bidding war reset.
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