Rory McIlroy outlines LIV Golf schedule he would ‘enjoy hugely’

Rory McIlroy raised eyebrows last week as he continued to soften his stance on LIV Golf.

Previously the most staunch opponent against LIV in the elite men’s game, McIlroy now admits he sees a future for the controversial Saudi-funded breakaway circuit in a unified golf ecosystem.

He accepts that LIV is ‘part of our sport’ and even suggested he would be open to playing a LIV tournament, as long as it became more like cricket’s Indian Premier League.

And now, speaking to Golf Digest’s John Huggan ahead of his first start of 2024 at the inaugural Dubai Invitational, the Northern Irishman has expanded on what his ideal landscape in men’s professional golf actually looks like.

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What McIlroy longs for most is a global schedule, where the game’s best players maximise golf’s vast appeal and reach fans on spectacular courses across the world.

“Going forward, if everything is on the table, venues have to be a big part of the consideration,” he said. “We need to make sure the courses are worthy of the players who are going to be competing.

“My dream scenario is a world tour, with the proviso that corporate America has to remain a big part of it all. Saudi Arabia, too. That’s just basic economics. But there is an untapped commercial opportunity out there.

“Investors always want to make a return on their money. Revenues at the PGA Tour right now are about $2.3 billion. So how do we get that number up to four or six? To me, it is by looking outward. They need to think internationally and spread their wings a bit. I’ve been banging that drum for a while.”

McIlroy claims the Australian Open ‘should almost be the fifth major’, while he also urged golf bosses to elevate more events in under-utilised golf markets – countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

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“We could end up with something that resembles Formula One, but with a little more of an American presence,” he said. “Throw in the four majors and you have a brilliant schedule for the top 70-100 guys, whatever the number is. We’d have, say a 22-event schedule. That would look pretty good to me.”

But what would this all this mean for LIV?

McIlroy proposed on the Stick to Football podcast that two months of the calendar could be dedicated to the 54-hole, team concept – naming May and November as possible gaps in a completely reimagined, fused schedule.

“If it is done like the IPL cricket model, team competition has a chance in golf,” McIlroy reiterated in Dubai.

“I’ve said what I’ve said about LIV. I still think it is a confusing product. So what they need to do is lean more into the team stuff. If you want to make your team franchises valuable, especially if you’re not going to get World Ranking points, then dive deep into team golf.

“I could see an eight-event schedule with four events in the spring and four events in the fall. If it was an IPL-like team thing, I would enjoy it hugely. There is an opportunity there to do more within the bigger ecosystem.”