The most unpalatable and unlikely scenario could be a necessary one. Rory McIlroy to LIV has been rumoured, slapped down, rumoured and slapped down. Yet as the PGA Tour procrastinates over completion of a deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, and even the formal involvement of McIlroy himself, one wonders if it may take something nuclear to allow golf to wake up to the haplessness of its present, fractured state. Should McIlroy sign for golf’s rebel tour the establishment would be sent into a level of frenzy so serious that collaboration between the PGA Tour, LIV and the PIF would surely transpire in a heartbeat.
There is no suggestion this will happen. Still, Greg Norman knew precisely what he was doing in recent days. “If Rory was willing to sit down and have a conversation with us, would we be happy to sit down with him?” Norman said. “100%.” McIlroy is not actually the PGA Tour’s main concern. The live prospect of LIV continuing a talent drain on established tours into 2025 should be the prime cause for fear. While not McIlroy, it could be Viktor Hovland. If not Hovland, it could be Tommy Fleetwood. The PGA Tour and its marquee events are being materially harmed by golf’s lack of compatibility. This will continue to be the case while the PGA Tour wanders aimlessly on one path and LIV confidently on another.
