In the months after Rory McIlroy won The Masters in 2025, the Northern Irishman experienced a remarkable slump as he searched for a new golfing purpose.
The emotional victory at Augusta National was at least 14 years in the making. Meanwhile, it ended a wait of more than a decade since McIlroy’s fourth major win. It was no surprise, therefore, that the 37-year-old took so long to reassess his goals.
On the course, McIlroy had built his season around the majors and the Ryder Cup for several years. Some PGA Tour and DP World Tour wins obviously meant a lot, but he was clearly aware that they were unlikely to impact his legacy.
What he did not realise in the moment he secured sporting immortality on Augusta’s 18th green following a playoff with Justin Rose was just how difficult it would be to find the motivation once one of his biggest dreams had been realised.
That is perhaps something he should keep in mind now that LIV Golf appears to be in serious danger of disappearing altogether.
Rory McIlroy will be remembered for leading the charge against LIV Golf
It is difficult to imagine how different the golfing landscape would have become had Rory McIlroy ever decided to make the jump to LIV Golf.
McIlroy made it clear that he was remaining loyal to the PGA Tour. And unlike some, he stayed true to his word throughout the game’s civil war.
McIlroy made no secret of his disdain for LIV. In fact, his focus on the PGA Tour’s fight to stave off LIV’s threat seemed to impact his own form at times. It is probably no surprise that he seems to now be so reluctant to play a full schedule on the PGA Tour.
The rivalry with those on LIV left McIlroy with a chip on his shoulder. It almost certainly contributed to the increasing number of grey hairs that now reside on his head.
So there is actually a danger that McIlroy may experience yet another lengthy hangover if this season does indeed prove to be the end of LIV Golf.
According to The Telegraph this week, Jon Rahm is expected to leave LIV at the end of the season. Meanwhile, the players have apparently been told that the Team Championship will be cancelled.
While there is an agreement in place with a lead investor, it is believed that they want all of the league’s best players to stick around before they sign on the dotted line.
Rahm’s mooted departure could therefore be the final nail in the coffin for LIV.
Rory McIlroy needs to be wary of losing an edge if LIV Golf disappears
Obviously, McIlroy’s hatred towards LIV has eased up as time has gone on. He understandably felt let down by the PGA Tour’s framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in June 2023.
And he has had no problem sharing a Ryder Cup locker room with the likes of Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
But the LIV connection made his loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2024 US Open all the more heartbreaking.
Similarly, it surely gave him even more fuel when it was DeChambeau who joined him in the final group on Sunday of The Masters back in 2025.
And McIlroy needed little encouragement to criticise DeChambeau at The Open Championship earlier this year when the American received a penalty after his second round.
That rivalry will remain if DeChambeau does not return to the PGA Tour. But there is no question that being the poster boys for the two tours battling for supremacy made the rift between McIlroy and DeChambeau so much more intense.
LIV’s days as a genuine threat to the PGA Tour ended some time ago now. But there seems to be a genuine possibility that the league will not even be around in 2027.
That chip could finally be removed from his shoulder once and for all.
All of that energy McIlroy invested into seeing the back of LIV may soon have to be directed elsewhere.
His 2025 Masters win suggests that may not be too easy for him.