RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Mum’s the word from Rory McIlroy on peace talks between Tour and LIV Golf’s Saudi backers

• McIlroy has been a vocal critic of LIV since its brash arrival on sporting scene 
• World number two has hinted that some progress is being made in negotiations
• A proposed ratification deadline of December 31 is fast approaching the groups 

The loosest lips in golf are trying awfully hard to stay closed for fear of ‘sinking ships’ in golf’s political tempest. As ever with Rory McIlroy, a few words still managed to creep out.

He is here in Dubai this week to contest the DP World Tour Championship – the finale of a season he rated as a ‘seven out of 10’ and which contained far more extra-curricular distractions than he ever wanted.

No doubt the dropped marks can be partially linked to the latter, explaining his stated desire on Tuesday to see a resolution ‘sooner rather than later’ in the peace discussions between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the Saudi Arabian backers of the LIV circuit.

It’s been more than five months since the ‘framework agreement’ of their merger was announced and barely six weeks remain until the proposed December 31 deadline for their ratification. McIlroy, a member of the PGA Tour’s policy board, chimed with the widespread rumours of his sport by hinting a deal is highly unlikely to be finalised by then.

And yet he has indicated some progress is being made at a time when the picture has rarely seemed so cluttered, factoring for the US Senate’s concerns around antitrust aspects of the merger, as well as the PGA Tour’s parallel efforts to bring in US-based investment to limit their dependency on the Saudis. Those quandaries exist to the side of the glaring question of where LIV might fit in the new world order.

Rory McIlroy has kept tight-lipped over how negotiations are faring between the DP World Tour, the PGA and LIV Golf

It is not yet clear where Saudi-backed tournament would fit into the new order in the sport

‘I think if you were in the middle of it, you would see that there’s a path forward,’ he said. ‘It’s just that no one on the outside has any details, right. Loose lips sink ships, so we are trying to keep it tight and within walls.

‘Getting something done sooner rather than later is a good thing.’

That was a sentiment he applied to himself as much as the wider game, saying the diversions of the past two years of chaos are ‘not what I signed for whenever I went on the board. The faster that it gets rectified, I think the better for everyone’.

Despite those distractions, the world No 2 has sewn up the European order of merit for a fifth time without needing to hit a shot in the Tour Championships. His season also featured two wins and a strong Ryder Cup, but his failure to convert contention to trophies in the majors has become a painfully familiar theme.

‘I would probably give it a seven out of 10,’ he said. ‘I played good golf, had my best-ever Ryder Cup, so I’ve been happy with the year. If I looked back on one thing, I’ll rue that miss at LA (where he was runner up in the US Open).

‘I had a great opportunity there to pick up another major and I didn’t. But I’m still not going to let that take away from the fact that it’s been another really consistent year. I’m feeling like my game is in as good of shape as it’s ever been throughout my career. I want to try to finish this year off on a high.’

McIlroy has claimed two wins in 2023, including the Genesis Scottish Open trophy in July

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