LIV Golf star Lee Westwood says he does not pay much attention to Rory McIlroy’s opinions.
Former world no.1 Westwood joined the talkSPORT Breakfast Show on Thursday to react to LIV Golf’s decision to change from 54-hole competitions to 72.
Lee Westwood hits back at Rory McIlroy for LIV golf comments claiming ‘he’ll change his mind next week’ 
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England’s Westwood was among the first players to accept lucrative offers to join LIV GolfCredit: Getty
The Saudi-backed breakaway league has been held back by its lack of Official World Golf Ranking [OWGR] points and the move brings it more in line with the PGA Tour and major championships.
But it raised eyebrows, largely because much of LIV Golf‘s early disruption was built around its quirks – and the league was even named after its 54-hole format.
McIlroy, who was the main dissenting voice against LIV before softening his stance, described the decision as ‘peculiar’ ahead of his appearance at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
When asked about McIlroy’s comments, Westwood responded: “I don’t know. I don’t pay too much attention to what Rory says, really.
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“He’ll change his mind for next week.”
What did Rory say?
“I think it’s a peculiar move because I think they could have got ranking points with three rounds.
“I don’t think three rounds versus four rounds is what was holding them back.
“Yeah, I don’t… it certainly puts them more in line with traditional golf tournaments than what we’ve all done.
“It brings them back into not really being a disruptor and sort of falling more in line with what everyone else does.
“But if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get the ranking points, I guess that’s what they had to do.
“I think what’s hard is you’ve got the LIV guys, and say potentially they get World Rankings, but because their strength of fields are going to be so weak because a lot of the guys have fallen already in the rankings because they have not had ranking points for so long.
“I don’t know if the ranking points are really going to benefit them. Yeah, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Player pressure
Despite the presence of superstars such as Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau – among many others – LIV Golf has struggled to establish itself as a serious commercial product.
Players without exemptions for the majors face missing out if they defect from the PGA Tour to LIV due to an inevitable tumble down the world rankings, putting their careers in jeopardy.
But even those with exemptions struggled at the majors in 2025 – with Tyrrell Hatton‘s fourth-place finish at the US Open their best showing all year.
Since the league’s launch in 2022, 14 majors have taken place and only two have been won by a player on the LIV tour – Brooks Koepka at the 2023 PGA Championship and DeChambeau at the 2024 US Open.
LIV Golf’s announcement on the decision to move away from 54 holes included a statement from two-time major winner Rahm, who described it as a ‘win for the players’.
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Rahm has not won a major since joining LIV Golf in December 2023Credit: Getty
Westwood added: “I think it was good for the players, good for the sponsors. And good for the fans more than anything. They get to see another day’s golf.
“I think [OWGR points] is one of the angles behind it. I think there were a few different things.
“Some of the guys focused their whole season around the major championships. And playing 54 holes was putting them at a bit of a disadvantage.
“I think they wanted to play 72 holes – that represented more the major championship format.
“But world rankings is one of the things on LIV’s mind. I don’t know whether it’s in the criteria or not because there’s 54-hole tournaments that got world ranking points before.
“But I think the boxes that you need to tick with the world rankings, 72 holes probably helps that.”