Rory McIlroy has revealed that individuals associated with LIV Golf openly expressed a desire to "destroy the European Tour" during the 2026 Masters, just months before the Saudi-backed league filed for bankruptcy protection. The Northern Irishman, a six-time major champion, has been a steadfast critic of LIV since its inception in 2022, when it lured some of the sport's biggest names with lucrative contracts.

A Controversial Claim

In an interview with The Scotsman this week, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings stated that LIV had a declared aim to "destroy the DP World Tour." McIlroy, speaking at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, corroborated Kinnings' claim, adding that the remarks were made at Augusta National during the Masters, a tournament McIlroy won for his second consecutive Green Jacket.

"I agree with everything that Guy said. They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race," said the world number two. "They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy the European Tour."

McIlroy continued: "It was always going to be good for a few years until something like this happened, or they realised they weren't going to get any return on investment, or they were going to leave the golf space and go invest in something else and invest in something that would actually make them money."

Financial Turmoil and Player Exodus

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which had injected more than $5bn (£3.8bn) into LIV, withdrew its backing, leading the league to file for bankruptcy protection last month. A potential $300m (£224m) financing deal from BC Partners Credit could pave the way for a revamped LIV, dubbed LIV 2.0, but several high-profile players, including Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, have already departed.

"I think we'll look back on it as a very strange time. It gave players a lot of leverage over the tours, and I don't necessarily think that's a good thing for the overall health of the professional game," McIlroy reflected. "I do think there has to be a bit of a reset. They created a false economy within men's professional golf, and I think that there is going to be a bit of a reset here just for things to be a little bit more sustainable."

He added: "There's not as much of an arms race as there was maybe a couple of years ago, and some players will argue that that's not good for players, but I think that's very short-term thinking. If you want sustainable tours, and we want these tours around in 50 years' time, there has to be sustainable business practices in place."

Focus on the Race to Dubai

McIlroy is currently competing in Abu Dhabi, aiming to enhance his bid for a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title. He enters the penultimate event of the season at Yas Links GC third in the standings, behind leader Eugenio Chacarra and American Patrick Reed. McIlroy trails Chacarra by 999.03 points, but with 1,500 points available this week and 2,000 next week at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, his hopes of matching Colin Montgomerie's historic record remain alive.

"I'm excited to be here, excited to get going and excited to at least be in the conversation of trying to win another Race to Dubai," he said. "I know I'm going to have to have a [good] week this week to do that. Hopefully I can and make things interesting going into next week. I think what gives me comfort is the amount of points that are on offer this week and next week. So even if I don't win but I still have a strong finish, I'll still feel like I have a realistic chance going into next week."