LIV aimed to 'destroy the European Tour' - McIlroy

Six-time major winner Rory McIlroy has said those connected to LIV Golf were expressing an ambition to "destroy the European Tour" at the 2026 Masters, only months before the league filed for bankruptcy protection.

The 37-year-old from Northern Ireland was a vocal opponent of LIV, the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway tour that attracted some of the biggest names in the sport when launched in 2022.

In an interview with the Scotsman, external this week, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings said LIV had a stated aim to "destroy the DP World Tour" and McIlroy added that the claim was made at the Masters this year, a tournament he won at Augusta National for his second consecutive Green Jacket.

"I agree with everything that Guy said. They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race," said the world number two at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship

"They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy the European Tour."

McIlroy continued: "It was always going to be good for a few years until something like this happened, or they realised they weren't going to get any return on investment, or they were going to leave the golf space and go invest in something else and invest in something that would actually make them money."

With the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) having withdrawn its backing after previous investment of more than $5bn (£3.8bn), the league filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

While a possible $300m (£224m) in financing from BC Partners Credit could lead to what has been dubbed LIV 2.0, leading players including Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia have already walked away.

"I think we'll look back on it as a very strange time. It gave players a lot of leverage over the tours, and I don't necessarily think that's a good thing for the overall health of the professional game," said McIlroy.

"I do think there has to be a bit of a reset. They [LIV Golf] created a false economy within men's professional golf, and I think that there is going to be a bit of a reset here just for things to be a little bit more sustainable.

"There's not as much of an arms race as there was maybe a couple of years ago, and some players will argue that that's not good for players, but I think that's very short-term thinking. If you want sustainable tours, and we want these tours around in 50 years' time, there has to be sustainable business practices in place."

In Abu Dhabi this week McIlroy is seeking to bolster his bid to win the Race To Dubai for a record-equalling eighth time.

He goes into the penultimate event of the season at the 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 a further 2,000 next week at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

"I'm excited to be here, excited to get going and excited to at least be in the conversation of trying to win another Race to Dubai," he said.

"I know I'm going to have to have a [good] week this week to do that. Hopefully I can and make things interesting going into next week.

"I think what gives me comfort is the amount of points that are on offer this week and next week. So even if I don't win but I still have a strong finish, I'll still feel like I have a realistic chance going into next week."