While at the Truist Championship over the weekend, the two-time Masters champ, 37, spoke out about LIV Golf, whose future remains uncertain amid funding woes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to be the most competitive golfer you can be, this [the PGA Tour] is the place to be,\u201d McIlroy told reporters<\/a>. \u201cAnd if you don\u2019t want to play here, I think that says something about you.\u201d<\/p>\n DeChambeau, 32, who is in his final year of his contract with LIV, is said to be entertaining talks about returning to the PGA Tour, and has previously told ESPN<\/a> and SI<\/a>, that he might focus on growing his YouTube channel<\/a> while playing in the tournaments that \u201cwant him\u201d if LIV goes away.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy at the 2026 Masters Yet McIlroy \u2014 who has been vocal in the past about LIV<\/a> \u2014 is dialing back his previous criticism of the tour and remaining optimistic about the future should the league fold.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all depends on what happens to LIV,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, you know, I think [PGA Tour CEO] Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this Tour stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter<\/a> \u2014 sign up now!<\/p>\n He added, \u201cThat\u2019s just good business practice.\u201d<\/p>\n McIlroy and DeChambeau previously were involved in a controversy regarding their play in the 2024 Masters.<\/p>\n The two rivals, who were paired together during the final round of the major, had a heated back-and-forth<\/a> on the 9th green\u2014 and McIlroy says their disagreement helped fuel him to go on to win and finally clinch the career Grand Slam.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it very clearly was my putt,\u201d McIlroy says in a new documentary Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait<\/a>, while discussing how the two players both had similar length birdie putts. \u201cI thought his putt was slightly closer to mine. We sort of look at each other and I\u2019m like, \u2018I think it\u2019s me to go.\u2019 And he\u2019s like \u2018I think it\u2019s me to go.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n McIlroy continues, \u201cIt\u2019s very gamesmanship-y, match play thing. Really, both of us want to putt first because if you can hole that before your opponent it puts pressure on them. He goes, \u2018Why don\u2019t we just throw a tee up for it to see who goes first.\u2019 And I\u2019m like no, this is the final round of the Masters. This isn\u2019t some like game on a Tuesday afternoon somewhere. I\u2019m like, no. I wasn\u2019t going to wilt in that situation. I\u2019m going to stand firm.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, DeChambeau told reporters that McIlroy \u201cwouldn\u2019t talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[He] didn\u2019t talk to me once all day,\u201d DeChambeau said at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f38bd13df2f7325c2fdd7a8ccd94c3da.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Hector Vivas\/Getty<\/p>\n