Rory McIlroy has left the American circuit to play the rest of the season on European soil. His first event after the conclusion of the TOUR Championship will be the Amgen Irish Open. Amidst his preparation to win the Open once again, the Northern Irishman has been following up on the PIF and PGA Tour’s $3 billion merger. He has been vocal about bringing the two different faces of the golf world, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf together.

On the other hand, his business partner, Tiger Woods, has been the one to say that the Tour was not in absolute need of the PIF’s investment. Then how come both players might be in the position, you may wonder. Well, that is because of the recent meeting between PIF and the PGA Tour in NYC. The Golf Digest reported that Woods was in New York but he did not attend the meet but only a charity event.

Furthermore, talking about the meeting, McIlroy said, “I don’t know much about the talks that are going on. I know that there is, but that’s not something that I’m a part of.” Just a few weeks ago at the East Lake, McIlroy hinted that despite being part of the transaction committee he sensed that there hasn’t been much progress made in the merger, which was unfortunate.

He also highlighted that there was a lack of willingness from the committee, which the fans alleged was directed at Woods. But the 4-time major winner was hopeful that the meeting would result in something better as he reassured the fans and said, “We are all in the game of golf trying to look for a solution to all this and try to move forward.”

McIlroy’s previous statement on the halt in the merger could be assessed when even Jay Monahan revealed that there was still work to do in the agreement, although it was definitive that the two would come together. But what if the delay takes more months than expected? McIlroy explains what will happen then.

Rory McIlroy sheds light on PGA Tour-PIF merger in case of further delay

Although Jay Monahan announced the merger with Saudi Arabia’s PIF in June 2023, before the PGA Tour finalized the agreement with them, they had another one in the works. The merger was kept being delayed but in the midst of it all, the PGA Tour signed with the Strategic Sports Group for $3 billion. After this, Monahan introduced the new PGA Tour Enterprise and the different committees which had various responsibilities.

But has the Transaction Committee on the PGA Tour been successful in stamping on the merger? As we all know, the answer is no. The repercussion of it is that the PGA Tour and PIF will remain divided, which in turn means LIV Golf would be too. So, for the fans, the game of golf will remain divided and there will be no hope of seeing their favorite stars together more than four majors in a year. What else would happen?

McIlroy added, “I think if it doesn’t happen soon, then honestly, I think PIF and the Saudis are going to have to look at alternative options, right? I’d say that’s the next step in all this if something doesn’t get done.” Even though Tiger Woods had stated that the PGA Tour does not need PIF financially, at least not currently, PIF taking back their $3 billion would mean that the PGA Tour won’t be increasing the prize purses to match with LIV in the coming years. Will the PGA Tour let go merger with PIF? It remains to be seen but the delay hints that it might be one of the reality.