DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy believes the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have grown “too far apart” to form an alliance and bring a splintered sport back together.
“I just don’t see a world where it can happen at this point,” McIlroy said Wednesday at the Dubai Desert Classic on the European tour.
Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour from LIV has brought into sharper focus the fading hopes of any form of deal being struck by top officials on the two circuits.
Even U.S. President Donald Trump has gotten involved in negotiations at one point, but there’s no sign of a commercial partnership that was first mooted in 2023 when the tours announced a framework agreement.
To McIlroy, who was once one of the most outspoken critics of LIV before distancing himself from talks, it looks as far away as ever.
“Just I don’t see a world where the two or three sides or whoever it is will give up enough,” he said, in a reference to the involvement of the European tour in talks. “Like for reunification to happen, every side is going to feel like they will have lost, where you really want every side to feel like they have won.
“I think they are just too far apart for that to happen.”
Among the top players still with LIV are Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who were McIlroy's teammates in Europe's Ryder Cup win at Bethpage Black last year.
Rahm and Hatton are currently going through an appeal process after being sanctioned with fines by the European tour for playing the LIV Golf circuit. They are still allowed into European tour events while the process plays out.
McIlroy said paying the fines would be a sign of their commitment to the Europe's Ryder Cup team ahead of the 2027 matches in Ireland.
“We went really hard on the Americans about being paid to play the Ryder Cup, and we also said that we would pay to play in Ryder Cups,” McIlroy said. “There’s two guys that can prove it.”
McIlroy will be playing on the European tour for a second straight week, having finished tied for third at the Dubai Invitational on Sunday. He shared the lead at one stage in the final round but wound up two strokes back from winner Nacho Elvira.
The No. 2-ranked McIlroy said he is constantly shifting his expectations and goals after completing the career Grand Slam last year.
For the Northern Irishman, it’s mostly about “finding joy in the process.”
“I think I need to show up at tournaments with enthusiasm every single time,” he said. “So playing in the places that I want to play, playing the tournaments I want to play. Not feeling like I’m at a tournament because I’m obligated or have to be there but because I want to be there.”
Asked what he still wanted to achieve in golf, McIlroy said: “Olympic medal. (British) Open at St. Andrews. Yeah, maybe like a U.S. Open at one of those like old, traditional golf courses — whether it’s Shinnecock this year or Winged Foot or Pebble Beach, (or) Merion.
“I would have told you two years ago,” he added, “if I won the Masters, it would have been great and I could have retired or whatever. But when you keep doing things, the goal posts keep moving, and you just keep finding new things that you want to do.”
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks after playing a second shot on the 15th hole during the final round of Dubai Invitational golf tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits off the first tee during the final round of Dubai Invitational golf tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Iran fired missiles at Israel and some Gulf nations while explosions could be heard around Tehran and the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday, as the United States prepared to further reinforce its already significant military forces in the Middle East.
As the war that began Feb. 28 was to enter its sixth week, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait warned about incoming missile fire, although it was unclear if anything was struck. Activists reported strikes around Tehran and the central city of Isfahan but it wasn’t immediately clear what was hit.
Iran’s attacks on Gulf region energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing.
Oil prices surged while Asian financial markets rose moderately during cautious trading. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.
U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks.
The largest American aircraft carrier in service sailed out of Split, in Croatia and “remains poised for full mission tasking in support of national objectives in any area of operation,” the Navy’s 6th Fleet announced.
It was unclear where it was going. The USS Abraham Lincoln remains in the Arabian Sea and the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier departed Norfolk on Wednesday to head to the Mideast.
Here is the latest:
Oil prices continued to surge on worries of a prolonged Iran war but the Asian markets that were open Friday rose moderately in cautious trading, while others were closed for the Good Friday holidays.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.
The U.S. only relies on the Persian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market.
The situation is very different in Asia. Japan, for example, relies on access to the Strait of Hormuz for much of the nation’s oil import needs and would need to rely on alternative routes. But some analysts say Japan and oher nations are counting on an agreement with Iran to allow transports.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% in Friday morning trading to 52,938.62. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 5,344.41. The Shanghai Composite sank 0.5% to 3,899.57. Trading was closed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India.
Wall Street, where trading is closed Friday, finished its first winning week since the start of the Iran war, although trading started out with a decline driven by a surge in oil prices.
Bangladesh is curtailing office hours and enforcing early closure of malls and shops beginning Friday to handle its energy crisis related to the war.
The country’s cabinet ordered 30% spending cuts for fuel and power at government offices, suspended some staff training and stopped purchases of new vehicles, ships and aircraft. Decorative lighting will not be allowed for celebrations.
Bangladesh, a nation of more than 170 million people, is seeking alternative fuel sources and $2.5 billion in external financing for imports, which account for 95% of its fuel.
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Friday urged motorists getting away for a long weekend during the Easter holiday to fill up in cities because most of the nation’s fuel shortages are in rural areas.
Among 2,400 gas stations in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, 182 had run out of diesel by Friday.
In Australia’s second-most populous state, Victoria, 76 gas stations were out of diesel. In the remaining states ranked by the most populous first, Queensland had 75 stations without diesel, Western Australia had 37, South Australia had 28 and in Tasmania there were seven.
“For those Australians planning a road trip this weekend, given our shortages are predominantly in rural and regional Australia, it makes sense to fill up in the city to help the country if you can,” Bowen said in Sydney.
The government, which blamed regional shortages on panic buying and distribution problems, is concentrating on delivering fuel to farmers for planting crops.
Mohammad Qubaisi, 53, with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon undergoes surgery by Dr. Mohammed Ziara, left, and his team, at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A newly constructed bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes Thursday is seen in Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A newly constructed bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes Thursday is seen in Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Members from the Popular Mobilization Forces attend a funeral of fighters who were killed in a U.S. airstrike, in Tal Afar, Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A man with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon sits on a bed at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
