Rory McIlroy has no sympathy for the LIV Golf players he said were "blindsided" by confirmation funding for the breakaway tour would be pulled at season's end.
Speaking to media ahead of this weekend's PGA Championship, the back-to-back Masters champion suggested those on the other side of the divide had buried their heads in the sand, and declared this eventuality was a "risk" of defection.
But McIlroy also conceded he was "glad to be wrong" having himself previously called for the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF to do some sort of deal that would have led to a reunification of golf.
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Given the PIF's decision was to withdraw from sport almost altogether, the decision would no doubt have been a massive blow to the PGA Tour had McIlroy's wish come true.
"Yes, love talking about this," he said with a grin when told a question about LIV was coming.
"I'm glad I was wrong. I can admit when I'm wrong, and that was one that I did get wrong.
"I think it was always a possibility to happen. Everyone knows like with everything that's happening in the Middle East, that had a lot to do with it. Whenever you have funding tied so much to the geopolitical landscape in the world, that's a tricky road to navigate.
"Their priorities shifted, and that leaves LIV in a pretty precarious spot."
McIlroy was one of the most vocal critics of LIV, and the players who chose to take the enormous financial windfalls that came with joining the rebel tour.
He said a collapse was "always a possibility", and players "knew the risks".
"I feel like a lot of us knew before the players did that this was going to happen – I was hearing about this back in March, April time," he said.
"I have friends over there. One of my best friends, Ricky (McCormick), caddies for Tom McKibbin, who's over there, and I would talk to him all the time about what was going on.
"I was saying to Ricky, even before (the LIV event in Mexico from April 16-19), 'Have you guys heard any of this stuff?' He was like, 'No, everything seems OK over here'.
"It just feels like the rug was pulled from under their feet and everyone was sort of blindsided by it.
"But again, that's the risk that those guys chose to take."
LIV chief executive Scott O'Neil said he is confident he'll secure a lifeline from outside investment in the coming weeks that would ensure LIV continued into 2027.
But should O'Neil manage to put some kind of calendar together, and then actually host the tournaments, few – including McIlroy – expect them to hold any semblance to the current guise.
"There's a lot of uncertainty in the air right now," McIlroy said.
"I'm not privy to the deals they have. From what I've read they've got some sponsorship revenue, but I don't know how long that those commitments are.
"Look, if they do somehow get a schedule together for next year, it seems like it's going to look drastically different to what it's looked like over the last four years."
McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, most recently in 2014 at Valhalla. His maiden win came two years earlier at Kiawah.
This year's tournament is being held at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, which last held a men's major in 1962.
McIlroy was forced to abandon a practice round after just three holes to get treatment for a blister on his toe.
There are six Australians in the field – Jason Day, Cameron Smith, Min Woo Lee, Elvis Smylie, Adam Scott and Travis Smyth.
PGA Championship Australian tee times
| Australian | Playing Partners | Rd1 | Rd2 |
| Jason Day | Gary Woodland, Sam Burns | 9.34pm (Thu) | 2.59am (Sat) |
| Cameron Smith | Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman | 9.45pm (Thu) | 3.10am (Sat) |
| Min Woo Lee | Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala | 9.56pm (Thu) | 3.21am (Sat) |
| Elvis Smylie | Martin Kaymer, Davis Riley | 2.42am (Fri) | 9.29pm (Fri) |
| Adam Scott | Corey Conners, Daniel Berger | 3.21am (Fri) | 9.56pm (Fri) |
| Travis Smyth | Aaron Rai, Sami Valimaki | 4.00am (Fri) | 10.35pm (Fri) |
Italics denotes 10th tee
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