Rory McIlroy: World number two says LIV Golf wanted to ‘destroy the European Tour’

With the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrawing support after a previous investment of more than $5bn (£3.8bn), the league filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

While a possible $300m (£224m) funding from BC Partners Credit could lead to what has been dubbed LIV 2.0, high-profile players including Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia have already pulled out.

“I think we’ll look back on this as a very strange time. It’s given players a lot of influence on tours, and I don’t necessarily think that’s a good thing for the overall health of the professional game,” McIlroy said.

“I think there needs to be a little reset. They (LIV Golf) have created a false economy within men’s professional golf, and I think there’s going to be a little reset here just to make things a little more sustainable.

“There’s not as much of an arms race as there was maybe a few years ago, and some players will say that’s not good for the players, but I think that’s very short-term thinking. If you want sustainable tours, and we want these tours to happen in 50 years, there have to be sustainable business practices in place.”

This week in Abu Dhabi, McIlroy looks to strengthen his bid to win the Race To Dubai for a record eighth time.

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 Spaniard Chacarra by 999.03 points, but his hopes of matching Colin Montgomerie’s historic mark remain alive with 1,500 points on offer this week and another 2,000 next week at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“I’m excited to be here, excited to get started and excited to at least be part of the conversation about trying to win another Race to Dubai,” he said.

“I know I’m going to have to have a (good) week this week to get there. Hopefully I can and will make things interesting for next week.

“I think what comforts me is the amount of points that are on offer this week and next week. So even if I don’t win but still have a good finish, I’ll still feel like I have a realistic chance for next week.”

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