Rory McIlroy has welcomed the “positive news” of a newly announced global alliance uniting the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Asian Tour, which has dealt another blow to the LIV Golf circuit.
The partnership was finalised during meetings held at last week’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, stripping LIV of a crucial scheduling partner in the Asian Tour.
The deal takes immediate effect, with the established tours joining forces to offer commercial and competitive opportunities across the professional game.
McIlroy backed the move on social media, adding: “Great to see the respective tours working together for the good of international golf.”
The announcement compounds a difficult period for the Saudi-backed breakaway league.
LIV Golf is already grappling with the loss of Saudi Arabian financial support, which saw the Kingdom pour more than £3.75billion into the circuit over its first three years of existence.
The breakaway league’s chief executive, Scott O’Neil, is now actively pursuing $350m (£261m) in fresh investment to sustain a tour that still boasts marquee names including Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
O’Neil had pinpointed national opens worldwide as part of a revamped calendar, with Asian Tour events regarded as integral to those scheduling ambitions.
Rory McIlroy welcomed the ‘positive news’
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LIV’s next tournament gets underway at the JCB Club in Staffordshire on Thursday.
The Asian Tour first aligned itself with LIV in 2021, a year before the breakaway league officially launched.
That arrangement created a promotion-and-relegation system linked to LIV’s series of $30m (£22.4m) events, with the top two players from the Asian Tour’s order of merit earning places on the LIV roster for its 2026 season.
The Asian Tour’s Saudi-funded International Series also gave LIV’s top players – who had been barred from the PGA Tour – access to high-value competitive opportunities.
The move is another blow to the LIV Golf circuit
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Several of those events proved contentious, as they were held in Europe, encroaching on ground traditionally occupied by the DP World Tour.
The existing strategic alliance between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour will now be extended through to at least 2029, having previously faced a potential expiry next year.
The partnership had been the subject of discussions in recent months.
The breakaway league’s chief executive, Scott O’Neil, is now actively pursuing $350m (£261m)
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Under the new arrangement, leading Asian golfers will gain playing rights on the DP World Tour from the 2027 season, while certain events will once again be co-sanctioned between the two circuits – a practice that had ceased during the Asian Tour’s tie-up with LIV.
Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour’s chief executive, said: “We feel the time is now right to collaborate with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour to enhance the Asian Tour for our members, fans and partners.”
Ben Cowen, the DP World Tour’s chief tournament and operations officer, hailed the agreement as “a hugely positive step for golf in Asia, but also an exciting new era of collaboration for our game globally”.
