MCILROY SAYS LIV GOLF SPLIT ENDED RYDER CUP FRIENDSHIPS

Rory McIlroy has said the split caused by LIV Golf's 2022 launch cost him friendships with former European Ryder Cup teammates. Speaking in New Delhi on Tuesday, he told Bloomberg editor Mishal Husain he was "not as close" with players who joined the Saudi-backed league. He said the rift was less about a grudge than about losing contact once those players no longer played the same events or qualified for Ryder Cups and majors. His comments came amid bankruptcy proceedings that have raised questions over LIV Golf's future.

McIlroy named Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood as players he lost closeness with. He was part of Garcia's wedding party in 2017, played with him in five Ryder Cups, and partnered Poulter six times. By September 2022 he said he lacked much of a relationship with any of them, and in January 2023 he rejected rekindling his friendship with Garcia. He and Tiger Woods were among the most vocal opponents of LIV Golf's launch, given what both had to lose on the PGA Tour. Their relationship later improved, and the pair spoke at the 2023 US Open.

LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy in September after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund confirmed in April it would stop funding the league after this season. LIV ended its season early in Indianapolis in August and laid off most of its staff. Several players, including Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Garcia and former Open champion Cameron Smith, have said they will leave before 2027; reports say Smith has sought a release similar to Garcia's. Talks between the PGA Tour and the fund over reunifying the sport had advanced as far as the White House.