RORY McILROY HAS said he was wrong to suggest the PGA Tour should seek an agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), in light of the current uncertainty surrounding LIV Golf.

The future of LIV Golf remains in doubt after the PIF announced plans to withdraw financing at the end of the year, having spent more than £4 billion (€4.63 billion) since 2022.

Speaking ahead of this week’s PGA Championship at Pennsylvania’s Aronimink Golf Club, McIlroy reflected on his previous stance that the two organisations could strike a deal to work together.

“I’m glad I was wrong,” McIlroy said.

I can admit when I’m wrong, and that was one that I did get wrong.

“I think it was always a possibility to happen. Look, I think everyone knows like with everything that’s happening in the Middle East, that had a lot to do; but whenever you have funding tied so much to the geopolitical landscape in the world, that’s a tricky road to navigate.

“Yeah, their priorities shifted, and that leaves LIV in a pretty precarious spot, but again, that was always – it was always a possibility. I feel like a lot of us in this room, including me, we almost knew before the players did that this was going to happen. Like I was hearing about this back in March, April time.

“Look, I have friends over there. One of my best friends, Ricky, caddies for Tom McKibbin, who’s over there, and I would talk to him all the time about what was going on. I was saying to Ricky, even before Mexico, Have you guys heard any of this stuff?

“He was like, ‘No, everything seems okay over here.’

“It just feels like the rug was pulled from under their feet and everyone was sort of blind sided by it. But again, that’s the risk that those guys chose to take. As I said, it leaves… there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air right now.”

McIlroy was then asked if he has any sense of what LIV’s prospects may hold going forward.

“I don’t. I’m not privy to the deals they have. I guess from what I read they’ve got some sponsorship revenue for I don’t know how long that those commitments are.

It’s certainly going to — look, if they do somehow get a schedule together for next year, it seems like it’s going to look drastically different to what it’s looked like over the last four years.”

McIlroy also spoke of how he is determined to enjoy the “perks” of life at the top of golf as he targets more major glory at this week’s US PGA Championship.

The 37-year-old clinched back-to-back Masters titles with a one-shot victory at Augusta last month and arrives at Aronimink Golf Club bidding to become just the fifth player since 1960 to win the first two majors of the year.

McIlroy has played just one tournament since Augusta, at last week’s Truist Championship, admitting he chose to skip the Cadillac Championship at Trump Doral after being invited to a state dinner during the visit of King Charles at the White House by President Donald Trump.

McIlroy also has a cameo in the recently-released Devil Wears Prada 2 movie and says he wants to make the most of what comes with being one of the world’s best.

“I know how fortunate I am and so lucky to be in this position in life and sometimes you have to enjoy the perks because I know that this isn’t going to last forever.

McIlroy is seeking to pass Nick Faldo and stand alone as Europe’s most successful golfer of the modern era. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“There’s going to be a day where I’m not sitting up here and I’m not competing for major championships and I’m not doing what I’m doing. So I guess while I’m doing it, I have to enjoy it.

“It’s been amazing, but there’s still a lot of things I want to achieve. But if I can enjoy it along the way, that’s a nice thing to do.

“I was tentatively planning to play Doral and then I got invited to that White House state dinner the night before on a Tuesday night, which I thought was a wonderful opportunity.

“I wanted to do the state dinner and if I was going to do that, it was probably better that I take that week to practise and prepare and come up here and see the golf course.”

McIlroy would pass Nick Faldo and stand alone as Europe’s most successful golfer of the modern era with seven major wins – Jersey-born Harry Vardon won seven before the Masters or US PGA Championship began – with victory in south-west Philadelphia.

He has won this tournament twice – in 2012 and 2014 – and holds the record for the largest winning margin in US PGA Championship history, by eight shots.

After winning the Masters last year, McIlroy spoke of struggling for motivation, but says he is raring to go this time around.

“I need to take the time after the Masters to reset and decompress and get myself in the right mental space again to get myself up for this tournament and keep going for the US Open and the Open Championship,” he added.

“I think I came into this tournament last year a little bit sort of uncertain of what my future was – just like I conquered this thing that I wanted to conquer for so long and I was a little bit… I still hadn’t really reset goals or found whatever that motivation was to keep going or go forward and set myself goals for the rest of my career.

“Coming into this tournament feels a lot different than what it did last year. I feel like I’ve got some nice clear road ahead to try to get some more of these majors.”

With additional reporting from PA.