Rory McIlroy stands ready to step in to speed up PGA - LIV talks on integration

But when it comes to reports he could receive $50 million in equity for staying loyal to the PGA Tour, with Tiger Woods possibly getting $100m, and whether those numbers would make them feel “validated”, McIlroy said: “I think the one thing we’ve learned in golf over the last two years is there’s never enough.”

Speaking ahead of his debut in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he teams up with Shane Lowry, the world number two said he believed he had the “connections” that might help the sides come to an agreement that could reunify the game.

“I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, but I was hopeful that there would be,” said McIlroy, who was shocked by last June’s merger announcement between the PGA Tour and PIF and eventually resigned from the board.

But with talks between the PGA Tour and PIF at a standstill following the Strategic Sports Group’s billion-dollar investment in the Tour, McIlroy is willing to step in for Webb Simpson and help break the deadlock.

​“I think I could be helpful to the process but only if people want me involved,” he said. “When Webb ... talked about potentially coming off the board, I said look, if it was something that other people wanted, I would gladly take that seat.

“I feel like I care a lot, and I have some pretty good experience and good connections within the game and around the wider ecosystem.

“But at the end of the day, it’s not quite up to me to just come back on the board. There’s a process that has to be followed.” Believing that unification is “the only way forward for the game of golf”, McIlroy said compromise was key.

“Compromise, but also try to articulate your points as well as you can and try to help people see the benefits of what unification could do for the game and what it could do for this tour in particular,” he said.

“We obviously realise the game is not unified right now for a reason and there’s still some hard feelings and things that need to be addressed.

“But I think at this point, for the good of the game, we all need to put those feelings aside and all move forward together.”

On the LPGA Tour, Stephanie Meadow is Irish golf’s lone hope in the Chevron Championship at Wilshire Country Club as Lauren Walsh and Olivia Mehaffey play the LET’s €320,000 Investec South African Women’s Open at Erinvale.

On the DP World Tour, Tom McKibbin tees it up in Japan in the ISPS Handa Championship at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba while Conor Purcell will be looking to build on his tie for fourth in the Abu Dhabi Challenge when he leads a seven-man Irish contingent in the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

​Handa Championship, 4am

Classic of New Orleans, 1pm

(Both live on Sky Sports Golf)

LET South African Open, 12 noon

(Live on Sky Sports Mix)