Online Reporter
Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday he felt the PGA Tour and LIV Golf had grown “too far apart” to strike a deal that would reunite men’s professional golf.
McIlroy, who has been the PGA Tour’s most outspoken member against LIV Golf, would like to see the world’s best players compete against each other more than just at the year’s four majors but was not hopeful.
“I just don’t see a world where it can happen at this point,” McIlroy told reporters at Emirates Golf Club ahead of this week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour.
McIlroy’s comments came just over a week after the PGA Tour reinstated Brooks Koepka as part of a new programme that offers a limited window for select players to return.
The divide has even captured the attention of US President Donald Trump, an avid golfer who was part of two meetings on the matter at the White House last February when there was optimism the schism between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour would be resolved.
McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam with his triumph at last year’s Masters, felt relationships between the two circuits were better than when LIV Golf launched in June 2022 but that did not mean either side would make the necessary concessions.
“Just I don’t see a world where the two or three sides or whoever it is will give up enough,” said McIlroy. “Like for reunification to happen, every side is going to feel like they will have lost, where you really want every side to feel like they have won … I think they are just too far apart for that to happen.”
Meanwhile, LIV Golf announced the signing of reigning NCAA individual champion Michael La Sasso on Tuesday.
The arrival of La Sasso, who joins captain Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC, comes less than a week after PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy said LIV Golf has not “signed anyone who moves the needle.”
La Sasso, 21, was a first-team All-American at Ole Miss. His 2025 national title was the second for the Rebels after Braden Thornberry in 2017. La Sasso’s season scoring average (69.48) set a school record.
“I’m incredibly excited to join HyFlyers GC and take this next step in my career,” La Sasso said in a release.
“It’s a rare opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and I don’t take that lightly. LIV Golf allows me to compete at the highest level on a global stage, and I thrive in a team environment, especially one with the camaraderie and support that defines HyFlyers GC. My focus is on learning, continuing to improve, and doing everything I can to help our team succeed.” − SuperSport.
Mathew Masinge