By Sohaib Shams
Rory McIlroy believes men's professional golf can now experience a reset after LIV Golf's attempts to "destroy" the DP World Tour. The breakaway league is seeking a relaunch next year with fresh investment from BC Partners Capital after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund withdrew support, having poured five billion US dollars (£3.7bn) into the venture over four years. To execute the relaunch, LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, resulting in the cancellation of all existing player contracts — a move designed to encourage players to re-sign under revised terms for LIV 2.0 in 2027.
Player Departures and Tour Stance
Jon Rahm's release involved giving up all financial claims against LIV's bankruptcy estate, reported at up to 150 million US dollars (£113m), while Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton, Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood confirmed their futures lie elsewhere. DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings disclosed that he had been informed one of LIV's main ambitions was to "destroy" the tour, adding that any players hoping to return would need to prove "themselves in the system".
McIlroy Calls for Sustainable Reset
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, the penultimate event in the Race to Dubai, world number two McIlroy said he agreed with everything Kinnings said. "They took players, they took sponsors, they turned professional golf into an arms race. They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy the European (DP World) Tour," McIlroy said. He described the LIV era as creating a "false economy" within men's professional golf and predicted a reset for long-term sustainability. "If you want sustainable tours, and we want these tours to be around in 50 years' time, there has to be sustainable business practices in place to make sure they are," he added.
Security Confidence in Abu Dhabi
Despite concerns voiced by some players about the location of the season-ending event in the United Arab Emirates because of regional instability, McIlroy expressed complete confidence in the security measures. "Obviously the DP World Tour are talking to the local authorities all the time. If everyone deems that it's safe to be here, then who am I to say otherwise?" he said. Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola took part in Wednesday's pro-am event, playing alongside England's Tommy Fleetwood.
