LIV Golf is fighting to survive the divide it created in professional golf. As the league faces bankruptcy proceedings, the spotlight is back on the damage the split has done to the sport. For Rory McIlroy, who has opposed LIV Golf since its launch, the fallout has never been limited to finances or player contracts. It has changed relationships between players who once shared the same locker rooms and competed on the same tours.

The six-time major champion was in New Delhi on Tuesday for the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, ahead of the DP World Tour India Championship. Speaking with Bloomberg editor Mishal Husain, he first explained why he opposed LIV so strongly before answering whether he had lost friends over the divide.

“Yeah, certainly people that I played with on European Ryder Cup teams that I’m not as close with anymore. But I would say it wasn’t … Yes, we had a difference of opinion on the future of golf, but I don’t think that’s something to lose friends over. But we also just didn’t see each other anymore,” he said with a soft smile.

“You know, they didn’t play the same tournaments. They weren’t eligible for the Ryder Cup. They weren’t qualifying for the major championships. So you just, you know, and you don’t live in the same places as these people, so you just lose touch.”

His answer followed an explanation of why he and Tiger Woods were among the loudest voices against LIV in 2022. McIlroy said both had the most to lose given their standing on the PGA Tour, and they believed a breakaway would fracture the game.

But the divide was not just about the tours or the future of professional golf. For McIlroy, it also meant losing the everyday contact that had kept him close to some of his former Ryder Cup teammates. Once they moved to LIV, their schedules diverged, and they gradually stopped seeing each other at tournaments.

Some of those relationships ran deep. McIlroy was part of Sergio Garcia’s wedding party in 2017 and shared five Ryder Cup teams with him. He also partnered Ian Poulter six times. Yet by September 2022, McIlroy said he did “not have much of a relationship” with Garcia, Poulter, or Lee Westwood. In January 2023, he flatly rejected the idea of rekindling his friendship with Garcia.

However, the relationship eventually improved. The two spoke at the 2023 U.S. Open in Los Angeles, and Garcia later said he felt he had gained a friend back. Poulter, meanwhile, insisted in January 2023 that he still considered McIlroy a friend.

Other departures also hit close to home. When Jon Rahm signed with LIV in December 2023, McIlroy told Sky Sports, “I’m going to miss competing with him week in and week out,” while praising him as both a player and a person.

Tyrrell Hatton’s move to the rival league also carried a personal dimension. Hatton had been McIlroy’s teammate at Boston Common Golf in TGL, and McIlroy reportedly held lengthy conversations with him to better understand his decision.

The sense of distance was not limited to McIlroy. Several players have spoken about how the divide changed the atmosphere in professional golf. Eddie Pepperell, for instance, described the awkwardness of sharing a room with players on opposing sides. Xander Schauffele has also expressed a desire to see the two sides play together, while Scottie Scheffler said in August that some LIV players could strengthen the PGA Tour if they returned.

In the same interview, McIlroy was asked whether he would vote to bring LIV players back if he had a personal vote. After a brief hesitation, he said yes, arguing that their return could strengthen the PGA Tour.

For now, whether McIlroy and more of his former teammates will regularly share the same tournaments again remains to be seen. But his comments make clear that the split’s consequences have extended beyond competition and contracts, reaching friendships that once seemed an integral part of the game.