DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy has expressed his disappointment at the prospect of fellow Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin joining LIV Golf and has warned him it is not worth the sacrifice.
McIlroy confirmed Wednesday that the 22-year-old McKibbin, his protégé, has received an offer from the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit and was mulling over whether to make the move, just weeks after earning a card on the PGA Tour for the first time.
McIlroy said he has spoken “multiple times” with McKibbin about the possible switch and has advised him against it.
“I really like Tom as a person, as a player,” said McIlroy, who was speaking at a news conference ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic starting Thursday. “I think he’s got a ton of potential. Look, I said to him, if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making. I think, you know, working so hard to get your tour card in the States ... to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement.
“I think what he potentially is sacrificing and giving up, with access to majors, potential Ryder Cup spot, depending on, you know, how he would play ... if I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision.”
McKibbin grew up playing at the same club — Holywood Golf Club — as McIlroy and was embraced by the four-time major winner after learning he had secured his PGA Tour card, courtesy of the points he gained during the European tour season, after the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November.
McIlroy said “personally, for me, it would be a little disappointing” if McKibbin was to join LIV but he would not stand in his way.
“What I would say is, there is still a ton of money to be made on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour,” McIlroy said. “There is so much money in the game, and some would argue too much money in the game for the eyeballs that we attract.
“So, yeah, again, as I said, I think that for whatever the benefit may be, I don’t think it’s worth the sacrifice to what he’s potentially going to give up.”
The disjointed golf world is waiting to discover what the landscape is for the future as negotiations continue between the PGA Tour, the European tour and the officials running LIV Golf.
Jon Rahm, who moved to LIV Golf in December 2023, said Tuesday he was excited about golf’s future, describing it as a “golden era ... where the possibilities are endless.”
McIlroy said Rahm was wearing “very rose-tinted glasses.”
“What I would say is with everything that’s happened in the game over the past two or three years, I think what I maybe could envision is that the domination of the American side of things might come back a little bit in terms of, not that the game has never been global, but you know, sort of trying to build on the opportunities globally,” McIlroy said. “So I think where we are, I think we are in a good position to try to grow that part of it.
"There’s amazing players, right? There’s amazing players that play in all different tours and parts of the world and everything, which is great. But at the same time, it’s become too fractured and too disjointed.”
McIlroy is looking to win the Dubai Desert Classic for the third straight year.
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The Associated Press
