"It's like the best of the best in Europe" - Rory McIlroy suggests a European Champions League style format if PIF x PGA merger deal is agreed
Rory McIlroy is a soccer fan, and he believes they do something globally with their sport that golf could replicate.
He has been talking a lot recently about how the game needs to get away from the tour vs. tour mentality and start growing globally as a whole. Not only is that his idea, but he has a plan on how to do it.
McIlroy said via Sky Sports:
"If you want to create something that is real value for the game of golf, I think it's this top-level tour and then all the other tours feed into it. There's promotion and relegation and you have to earn your way in and you have to earn your spot to stay in. I think that's really important, too."
He continued, comparing his vision to the UEFA Champions League:
"The way I view it is a bit like Champions League in football. It's like the best of the best in Europe and then all of the other leagues feed up into it. I think it has to be global in nature. You need to figure out a structure where all these other tours feed into that so it gives people a chance to come up."
This would create a sense of community and unity in the game that has been missing for some time.
How Rory McIlroy's golf Champions League could work
In the Champions League, the top three or four teams from the top European leagues in FIFA make it into the tournament. That's teams from the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, and many others.
Those teams then play group stages and knockouts to crown a European champion. That's how McIlroy envisions golf moving forward. Every tour, be it the DP World Tour, LIV Golf, or the PGA Tour, sends the best of the best and their top placements into a tournament.
Perhaps it would have multiple stages or legs like the Champions League and function the same way. Top placements from all tours coming together would be a bit of an unprecedented move. The major championships often have this, but it's not structured as such and it is often coincidental if top players from every tour are in the field.
It's become nearly impossible to ignore the rising power of LIV Golf. They poached Jon Rahm when he was the world number three. They did the same with Cameron Smith when he was ranked highly.
That doesn't even include players like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and others who are big names with supreme talent that the tour landed. There are a lot of good players over there, and McIlroy would like to see them get to compete against one another in a massive format.
In this Champions League-style tournament, it would be perhaps the top 10 placers in the PGA Tour such as Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler and others. They'd go up against the DP World Tour's best, such as Adrian Meronk and Yannik Paul, and LIV's top scorers, Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and others.