McIlroy said those connected to LIV Golf were “going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy the European tour” as recently as this year’s Masters in April but, for all those ambitions, the world number two feels the current situation was inevitable.

“They took players, they took sponsors [and] they turned professional golf into an arms race,” he said.

“It was always going to be good for a few years until something like this happened, or they realised they weren’t going to get any return on investment, or they were going to leave the golf space and go invest in something else and invest in something that would actually make them money.”

In Abu Dhabi this week McIlroy is seeking to bolster his bid to win the Race To Dubai for a record-equalling eighth time.

He goes into the penultimate event of the season at the Yas Links GC third in the standings behind leader Eugenio Chacarra and American Patrick Reed.

McIlroy trails Spaniard Chacarra by 999.03 points but his hopes of matching Colin Montgomerie’s historic mark remain alive with 1,500 points on offer this week and a further 2,000 next week at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“I’m excited to be here, excited to get going and excited to at least be in the conversation of trying to win another Race to Dubai,” he said.

“I know I’m going to have to have a [good] week this week to do that. Hopefully I can and make things interesting going into next week.

“I think what gives me comfort is the amount of points that are on offer this week and next week. So even if I don’t win but I still have a strong finish, I’ll still feel like I have a realistic chance going into next week.”



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