Rory McIlroy’s LIV Golf fears proven right in worrying prospect for PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy’s prediction that LIV Golf would show no signs of ‘slowing down’ has seemingly been proven right, after the Saudi-backed circuit continued their expansion this week.

After bursting on the professional golf scene in the summer of 2022, the threat of the LIV setup and Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the game was initially played down by those at the PGA Tour. Two years on though, the league has established itself as one of the sport’s leading circuits alongside the PGA Tour.

Earlier this week the Saudi-backed series’ creative director Will Newell took to social media to announce the launch of their new office space in London, writing on Instagram: “New London office opens this week. Fit out by Echospace London,” along with a group of office pictures.

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LIV now has office bases in London, Florida, and New York, with the latter recently being expanded to cater to its overgrowing group of employees. This growth was recognized by one of LIV’s staunchest critics in McIlroy, who believes the breakaway league will only continue to expand.

“I certainly don’t see in the next couple of years LIV slowing down,” McIlroy told Sports Illustrated In June. “They’re buying office space in New York. They have over 200 employees. I don’t see a world where – and I haven’t heard any of those guys say that they don’t want to play over there either, right?

“You’ve got guys who are on contracts until 2028, 2029. Looking a few years down the line, LIV is going to continue to sort of keep going down its path. But hopefully with maybe more of a collaboration or an understanding between the tours. Maybe there is some cross-pollenation there where players can start to play on both.

“I guess that will all be talked about in the coming weeks. “The only thing is there are so many tours and so many golf tournaments. There are only a certain amount of weeks in the year. That’s the complicated part. Trying to figure out which tournaments go where, when do we play them, how many players, what players.”

Despite initially attempting to stifle the progress of their rivals, the PGA Tour was forced to take a U-turn after announcing they had reached a ‘framework agreement’ with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) last June. Over a year on, a deal between the two parties is yet to have been reached.

Some progress appears to have been made in recent weeks though, with Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck reporting last month that a ‘draft agreement’ had been signed off. Tour commissioner Jay Monahan however did later reveal in a memo to players that there was still work to be done.

“Both parties recognize that there is still work to do to reach a final agreement,” Monahan wrote. “Our talks are ongoing with the goal of developing a shared vision for the future of professional golf that is pro-competitive and provides players with the best global opportunities.”