Lee Westwood has reignited his disagreement with former Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy, questioning the Northern Irishman’s recent criticism of LIV Golf as the breakaway league officially confirms its closure.
Westwood has accused McIlroy of repeating claims made by DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings, insisting that he has never heard LIV Golf players express a desire to destroy the European circuit.
The comments have added another twist to professional golf’s ongoing divide, with the future of several former LIV players still uncertain following the league’s shutdown.
Westwood challenges McIlroy’s LIV Golf claims
The disagreement began after McIlroy, speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi Championship, backed Kinnings’ assessment that LIV Golf had spent more than $7 billion and had allegedly sought to damage the DP World Tour.
McIlroy also claimed that LIV representatives had openly discussed their intentions at Augusta National during this year’s Masters.
“They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy The European Tour,” McIlroy said.
The four-time major champion argued that LIV Golf had taken players and sponsors away from established tours, creating an expensive battle for influence within professional golf.
However, Westwood strongly disputed that version of events when speaking to talkSPORT.
“I don’t really see Rory too much, but he was just regurgitating what Kinnings had said in his statement about LIV wanting to kill the DP World Tour,” Westwood said.
“By the way, I’ve never heard any players that play on LIV say that they want to kill the European Tour. Why would they do that?”
The Englishman pointed out that several players who joined LIV continued competing on the DP World Tour, which had also provided an important route to world ranking points.
“So why would you want to kill a tour that you were filling up your schedule on? I don’t know,” he added.
Westwood questions timing of McIlroy’s comments
Westwood also questioned why McIlroy had chosen to revisit the alleged comments made at Augusta several months after the Masters.
“Maybe somebody else was going around saying that in Augusta, and why would you bring it up now? Why not bring it up right after it had happened at Augusta?” he said.
The former world number one then suggested that the DP World Tour could be looking to place responsibility for some of its difficulties on LIV Golf as the breakaway league reaches its end.
“That statement there sort of says to me, we’re going to try and blame LIV for everything, now it’s going,” Westwood continued.
He also raised the possibility that Kinnings was preparing the membership for difficult news, although that was Westwood’s interpretation rather than a confirmed explanation from the DP World Tour chief executive.
Westwood faces uncertainty over his own future
Westwood’s criticism comes at a time when his own playing future remains unresolved.
The 53-year-old recently admitted that he was unemployed, with no confirmed tour on which to compete in 2027.
He could potentially return to the DP World Tour, but doing so would reportedly involve serving a suspension covering the first 10 tournaments of the season.
That leaves Westwood facing an uncertain path as the professional golf landscape changes following LIV Golf’s closure.
McIlroy believes DP World Tour can move forward
McIlroy, meanwhile, believes the DP World Tour is emerging from the disruption caused by LIV Golf in a strong position.
Several high-profile former LIV players are expected to return to the European circuit or receive opportunities to compete during the 2027 season.
Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are among the prominent names linked with a return to a fuller schedule on the tour.
Bryson DeChambeau has also reportedly been offered an opportunity to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027 should he wish to take it.
The prospect of those players returning could reshape the European circuit, although their individual arrangements and playing schedules remain important factors.
With LIV Golf’s proposed relaunch abandoned and its closure confirmed, the disagreement between Westwood and McIlroy shows that the arguments surrounding the breakaway league are not disappearing with it.
Instead, the fallout is entering another phase, with former teammates now openly disagreeing over what LIV Golf was trying to achieve and what its departure means for professional golf.
