Rory McIlroy did not try to dissuade Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton from accepting “life-changing money” to sign for LIV Golf, admitting: “I’ve changed my tune”.

The world number two no longer calls for punishment for LIV Golf rebels as he understands the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backers, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), have moved on in an attempt to eventually reunify the game.

Speaking ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where the Strategic Sports Group - a private equity group led by Fenway Sports - was understood to be close to announcing a $2 billion deal with to become a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises, McIlroy said he’s “done with trying to change people's minds."

“Look, at the end of the day everyone needs to do what's right for them,” McIlroy said.

“I had a long talk with Tyrrell on Sunday, completely understood where he was coming from.

“I've talked to him quite a bit about it over the past month. It got to the point where they, you know, negotiated and got to a place where he was comfortable with and he has to do what he feels is right for him.

“So I'm not going to stand in anyone's way from making money and if what they deem life-changing money, like absolutely.”

McIlroy believes the game is about to move to a new phase as the tours and the Saudis edge closer to a deal with the imminent SSG agreement the first step.

“I just hope they get done,” McIlroy said of the deal as the policy board prepared to meet for the second day running. “I know that they were supposed to vote on (the deal between the Tour and SSG) in Sunday night and there was a delay, they were supposed to vote on it last night and there was a delay. I feel like this thing could have been over and done with months ago.

“I think just for all of our sakes that the sooner that we sort of get out of it and we have a path forward, the better.”

As for the loss of Hatton to Rahm’s new team for as much as €60 million, McIlroy didn’t have a critical word for his Ryder Cup teammate Hatton, given how the landscape has changed since the PGA TOUR decided to make peace with PIF.

“Again, I said to him just like I said to Jon, like I'm totally supportive of your decision if that's what you feel is the right thing for you,” McIlroy said.

“Look, these are guys that I've spent a lot of time with, and I guess I've said this before, but I've come to the realisation I'm not here to change people's minds.

“I'm here to just try -- especially when I was at the board level, trying to give them the full picture of where things are at and hopefully where things are going to go. They can do with that information what they want.

“But at the end of the day I think I'm done with trying to change people's minds and trying to get them to see things a certain way or try to see things through my lens because that's ultimately not the way the world works.

"You know, these are guys that I respect and that I've spent a lot of time with and if that's what they feel is the best decision for them, then I'm going to, you know, be supportive of that decision and let them go and do their own thing.”

Admitting that he would have taken a different stance before the signing of the framework agreement between PIF and the PGA TOUR last year, McIlroy is no longer in favour of punishing the rebels and hopes the door will be left ajar for their return.

“I think life is about choices,” he said. “Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here. If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back.

“I think it's hard to punish people. I don't think there should be a punishment for -- obviously I've changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA TOUR and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties.

“It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game. That's my opinion of it.”

As for the deal between the PGA TOUR and the Strategic Sports Group formed by a host of heavy hitters such as the Fenway Sports Group, it is understood to be no impediment to a separate deal with the PIF.

He admitted his chats with Rahm and Hatton were very different to what they might have been a year ago.

"That’s because we’re potentially about to do a deal with PIF, who owned the large majority of LIV, and hopefully seeing things come back together here at some point,” he said.

"Yeah, I think the nature of the conversation was probably different than it would have been a year ago, absolutely.”