Rory McIlroy says he would rather 'retire' than play LIV Golf

Rory McIlroy made a blistering start at the Scottish Open on Thursday with a six-under 64

Rory McIlroy says he would retire "if LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on earth".

The world number three was responding to revelations that he and Tiger Woods could have been offered LIV team ownership as part of the PGA Tour's proposed merger with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Both players have been vocal critics of the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV tour.

McIlroy says there is "quite a bit of apathy" surrounding the merger process.

A US Senate sub-committee met on Tuesday to investigate the deal that ended the legal wrangles between the tours after a year of unprecedented disruption following LIV's launch.

Documents from the hearing also showed that as well as being offered franchises, McIlroy and Woods would play in 10 LIV events had they agreed to sign up. Neither proposal progressed beyond the discussion stage.

• Live: Scottish Open leaderboard

• Will McIlroy rekindle major challenge at The Renaissance?

"There wasn't a lot of new information in there for me, there was maybe some new information for other people," said McIlroy at the Scottish Open, where he opened with a six-under 64.

"I've almost been too close to it over the last year, so it's nice to be able to distance myself a bit from it.

"If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on earth, I would retire. That's how I feel about it. I would play the majors, but I'd be pretty comfortable."

The Northern Irishman added that players felt "blindsided" when news of the shock proposed deal broke last month, but says he has not lost trust in PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who has been criticised by Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth for a lack of transparency.

"It's maybe not as serious for me because I sort of knew what was going on, so I wasn't as in the dark as some of the other guys," said McIlroy.

"People felt blindsided by it and I can obviously understand why Jordan and Xander and other guys would feel that way."

"I've read a quote that they [PGA Tour] were negotiating their survival. That's a very fair thing for a business to do.

"I'm just apathetic towards all the noise around it. The thing I've realised, no matter what I do or say, or try to show leadership, I'm going to be just fine.

"I've tried to step up for maybe the guys that didn't have a voice early on, but I think with everything that's transpired over the last few weeks, the players are going to find themselves more and more at the table to try to get whatever it is that they want out of it."

• Noel Gallagher's career-defining moments on TV: The iconic Mancunian musician sits down for a revealing chat with Dermot O'Leary

• The adventures of the last human alive and his friends...: Popular sitcom Red Dwarf is available to watch on BBC iPlayer