Lee Westwood hits back at Rory McIlroy's 'typical' comments questioning the value of LIV Golf players to PGA Tour

21.08.2026, 15:34 skysports.com

Lee Westwood hit back at Rory McIlroy questioning the value of LIV golfers and claimed the comments were "typical" of the reigning Masters champion.

McIlroy warned ahead of the BMW Championship that it could be a "tough road back" for players wanting to return to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, with speculation ongoing around LIV Golf's long-term future.

Scottie Scheffler said some LIV Golf players could bring value to the PGA Tour if they return, although warned there should be penalties for any who come back, a notion McIlroy appeared to disagree with.

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"I would argue, have they brought value to LIV?" McIlroy told reporters earlier this week. He later added: "I feel like I've kept my position consistent that LIV has never been a good thing for the game."

Westwood will make his Legends Tour debut next week ahead of returning to the DP World Tour in October at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, with the Englishman one of multiple LIV Golf players to have accepted a sponsor's invitation.

"I really don't care what people think, to be perfectly honest," Westwood told TNT Sports at LIV Golf Indianapolis.

"It [Alfred Dunhill Links Championship invite] illustrates the fact that people like LIV players in their events. Promoters and sponsors, no matter which tour they're on, they [LIV golfers] bring quality to tournaments.

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"I heard Rory's comments. I thought Scottie [Scheffler] answered the question well and Rory's answer was just typical of Rory, really - it wasn't well thought out.

"There's a lot of players on this tour [LIV Golf] bring value to tournaments."

LIV Golf announced they have found an unnamed investor to help move into 'the next chapter', with chief executive Scott O'Neil warning they have a "very compressed timeline" to finalise funding to continue beyond the end of the 2026 season.

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"Look, it's tough - it's not easy," said Bryson DeChambeau, who has yet to confirm whether he will extend his own LIV Golf contract. "We [LIV Golf] definitely have a lot against us.

"Behind the scenes, we've got a lot of people that are working hard to make this possible for not only all the players that are out here, but all the fans that have come out to these events.

"If it works, it works and that's awesome. If it doesn't, we'll figure things out and time will move on. I would say that time heals things. I hope people can see that we actually bring value to the game of golf. My wish is that people give us one more shot and be open-minded."

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