McIlroy backs claims LIV Golf sought to undermine DP World Tour

McIlroy has lent his voice to claims that the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league pursued a strategy designed to weaken the DP World Tour, golf's longest-established professional circuit. The world-ranked golfer's backing of these allegations underscores deepening tensions within professional golf as competing business models vie for player participation and commercial dominance.

Under new eligibility rules announced by the DP World Tour, any golfer who commits to competing in LIV 2.0 will become ineligible to participate in the established European tour from 2027. The restriction represents a significant escalation in the tour's efforts to protect its player roster and commercial interests.

The competing tours have been locked in an ongoing struggle for supremacy since LIV Golf's launch in 2022. McIlroy's public endorsement of the view that LIV Golf has engaged in destructive tactics adds weight to concerns raised by established golf institutions about the league's impact on professional golf's traditional structures.

The eligibility ban signals the DP World Tour's determination to maintain its competitive standing and player loyalty amid the fractured landscape of professional golf. Whether such restrictions will prove effective in stemming player defections to emerging competitions remains to be seen.