Rory Mcllroy says he would retire if LIV was the ‘last place to play golf on Earth’

Rory McIlroy has been one of the more outspoken critics of LIV Golf over the past year as the sport experienced massive division following the departure of big names from the PGA Tour to LIV. 

Even now, with the two tours joining forces in a landmark agreement, McIlroy is taking shots at LIV. 

Rory McIlroy on the fifth hole during the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club on July 13, 2023, in the United Kingdom. (Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

“If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on Earth I would retire, that’s how I feel about it,” he said Thursday at the Genesis Scottish Open, according to Golf Channel. “I’d play the majors, but I’d be pretty comfortable [not playing].”

McIlroy’s statement was in response to the reported proposal by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to make McIlroy and Tiger Woods owners of an LIV Golf team, per Golf Channel. 

TOP GOLF PROS XANDER SCHAUFFELE AND JORDAN SPIETH SAY PGA TOUR COMMISH JAY MONAHAN HAS TO REBUILD TRUST

The proposal came to light during Tuesday’s Senate hearings with the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and the tour “quickly rejected” the idea of Woods and McIlroy joining LIV Golf, according to ESPN. 

The PGA Tour, PIF and the DP World Tour reached an agreement in June with a goal to “​​unify the game of golf, on a global basis.”

Xander Schauffele shakes hands with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan after the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Jan. 6, 2019, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The merger came less than a year after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said any potential truce with the rival Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit was “off the table.” 

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Monahan’s reversal has caused some members of the PGA Tour to lose trust in the commissioner, according to Xander Schauffele. 

“I’d say he has a lot of tough questions to answer in his return,” Schauffele said at the Scottish Open. “And yeah, I don’t trust people easily. He had my trust, and he has a lot less of it now.”

Three-time major winner Jordan Speith also weighed in, saying that “based on conversations,” Monahan will need to rebuild trust with players. 

Rory McIlroy reacts on the 17th green during the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club on July 13, 2023. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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McIlroy was asked about the comments by Speith and Schauffele, saying he can understand where they were coming from.

“I wasn’t quite as in the dark as some of the other guys, but people felt blindsided by it and I can obviously understand why Jordan [Spieth] and Xander [Schauffele] and a lot of the other guys would feel that way,” McIlroy said Thursday. “After everything that’s transpired over the last few weeks the players are going to find themselves more at the table to try to get whatever that is they want out of it.”

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and Chantz Martin contributed to this report