Rory McIlroy's reaction to first public meeting with LIV Golf chief says it all about PGA Tour star

Both sides of golf's once bitter civil war appear to have finally put their differences aside, with Rory McIlroy enjoying the company of Yasir Al-Rumayyan at Carnoustie

PGA Tour loyalist Rory McIlroy was all smiles when meeting up with LIV Golf chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan on Thursday ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Carnoustie.

Scotland is hosting what appears to be a downing of the weapons in the sport's recent bitter fallout involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The DP World Tour Pro-Am event has welcomed members from both sides, with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) CEO Al-Rumayyan in the amateur field.

Not only are the two bosses on the entry list, but they have also been put in the same group by tournament organisers, with Monahan's pro partner Billy Horschel, and Al-Rumayyan's Dean Burmester of the LIV setup.

Both Monahan and Al-Rumayyan have got to know each other well over the past year despite their differences, with the duo leading talks to reunite men's professional golf after a shock framework agreement was announced last June. Whilst a deal is yet to be finalised, the two sides remain in talks.

Playing behind the two golf bosses, is McIlroy, who is partnered alongside his dad Gerry, as well as tournament chief Johann Rupert and Louis Oosthuizen. Ahead of the opening tee shots on Thursday morning, McIlroy was seen in conversation with Al-Rumayyan as the pair embraced each other.

The picture of the two alongside each other shows a clear changing of the tide in the sport, after McIlroy had previously announced himself as one of LIV's biggest critics. The Northern Irishman infamously labelled the Saudi-backed league 'dead in the water' in the months leading up to its inception, after a number of big-name players ruled themselves out of competing - before many went back on their word.

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Even after a peace agreement was announced last summer, McIlroy reinstated his stance, admitting at the 2023 Canadian Open that he 'hated' LIV Golf and wanting the breakaway circuit to 'go away'. A month later at the Scottish Open, the four-time major winner even admitted he would rather retire than make the Saudi switch.

Following the turn of the year though, McIlroy's opinion appeared to change with the Northern Irishman clearly keen to bring an end to the ongoing fallout and lengthy negotiations. “I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start,” he said in January.

“It was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods’s position. I can’t judge people for making that decision, so if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgmental at the start." Since then, McIlroy has continued to encourage a deal that ends the split between the PGA Tour and LIV.

And his showing at Carnoustie on Thursday only reinstated the idea that his previous disdain towards the Saudi's venture into the top of professional golf has been put to one side in a bid to end hostilities.