Rory McIlroy finally broke cover today following the shock announcement on Tuesday that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Saudi-owned fund behind LIV Golf have decided to join forces as one entity.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the Canadian Open, at which McIlroy is the defending champion, the 34-year-old Northern Irishman, who was very much the figurehead in campaigning for players to stay loyal to the PGA Tour and pouring scorn on those who had joined LIV Golf, said that he had ‘mixed emotions’ about the merger, but admitted that it would ultimately ‘be good for professional golf’. He also said that he hoped that the money being invested by the Saudi’s Public Investment Fund would be used ‘in the right way’.
The four-time major winner said: “[The merger] unifies men’s pro golf and secures its financial future. But there are mixed emotions in there as well. It’s hard for me to not feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb, feeling like I’ve put myself out there and this is what happens. Removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf, there’s no denying it.”
Several players left the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour to join the LIV circuit when it launched last year, and McIlroy, who had been a staunch critic, could not hide his feelings on Wednesday when he said: “I hate LIV. I hope it goes away now. All I’ve wanted to do is protect the aspirational nature of the PGA Tour. This company sits above everything. Anyone involved with LIV now answers to Jay [Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner]. Whether you like it or not, the PIF is going to keep spending money in golf. Now the PGA Tour is going to control how that money is spent. Would you rather have one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds as a partner or an enemy? At the end of the day, money talks, and you’d rather have them as a partner.”
McIlroy said he still had confidence in Monahan, who faced calls to resign at an intense and heated players meeting at Tuesday’s Canadian Open in Toronto, but feels there should be consequences for the LIV defectors. For example, he believes those who have resigned their membership of the DP World Tour and are now ineligible for the Ryder Cup should not be allowed to play for Europe against the United States in Rome from 29 September to 1 October.
“I’ve dealt with Jay a lot closer than a lot of those guys have and from where we were a couple of weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks brighter as a whole,” said McIlroy. “What that looks like for individual players in keeping a Tour card, bringing players back into the fold, that’s where the anger comes from. I understand that and there still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour, started litigation against it. We can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen. That’s what Jay was trying to get across on Tuesday.”
Asked if those who turned down LIV deals should be reimbursed, McIlroy replied: “The simple answer is yes. The complex answer is how does that happen?” Down the road that’s something I look forward to being more specific about.
Asked about the increasing Saudi investment in golf, McIlroy replied: “I’ve made my peace with it. I’ve seen what’s happened in other sports and businesses. I’ve just resigned myself to the fact this is going to happen. The PIF and the Saudis want to spend money in the game of golf and they are not going to stop. How can we get that money into the game but use it in the right way? Hopefully this is the way of doing it. Let’s use the money in the right way.”