Asked about the stumbling blocks in the way of a deal getting done between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the group that runs LIV Golf, Rory McIlroy was candid on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of the BMW PGA Championship in Surrey, England, the four-time major winner said half of tour players “probably don’t” want one consummated.

“I’d say maybe half the players on LIV want the deal to get done, half probably don’t,” the 35-year-old McIlroy said, first acknowledging that the United States Department of Justice will also have bearing on any potential deal. “I’d say it’s probably similar on the PGA Tour. Because it’s just like anything, everyone’s looking out for themselves and their best interests and it would benefit some people for a deal not to get done. But it would obviously benefit some people for a deal to get done. So yeah, I think there’s different opinions amongst the players as to what should happen. And I think when you have a members-run organization, it complicates things a little bit – especially when some of those players are having to make decisions on the business side of things.”

McIlroy still believes the two organizations will try to make it work.

“I think the tours want it to happen,” McIlroy said. “The investors certainly want it to happen because they can see the benefit for themselves. But right now it’s the DOJ and differing opinions of the players.”

The two sides, who announced a “framework agreement” for a merger in the summer of 2023, held talks in New York last week as a means to bridge the remaining gaps.