The article explores Rory McIlroy's evolving stance on LIV Golf, tracing his journey from initial criticism and commitment to the PGA Tour to a recent announcement that he will compete against LIV stars in a televised match.
Rory McIlroy's association with LIV Golf has been a tumultuous journey, taking another unexpected turn recently. The 35-year-old Northern Ireland golfer has stayed true to the PGA Tour during a period of upheaval in the sport, serving as an informal representative for them.
From the onset, Rory McIlroy made his feelings clear, refusing to even entertain the idea of a new tournament. In 2020 he explained: "People are looking at it purely from a monetary standpoint. I would like to be on the right side of history with this one, just sort of as Arnold was with the whole Greg Norman thing in the '90s."
In June 2023, amidst merger rumours, McIlroy was unequivocal, reiterating, "I still hate LIV. I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does. And I think that's where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF. Very different from LIV." He added, "Hopefully, we can all get back together and make the professional game a bit more harmonious so that we can all compete against each other more often instead of the four times a year at the major championships."
McIlroy was a staunch defender of the PGA, which made it all the more difficult for him when commissioner Jay Monahan did an about-face on LIV and began negotiations. This was a tough pill for McIlroy to swallow. McIlroy responded: "No, not really. I met Yasir at the end of last year. We had a really good chat and we talked about, you know, he loves the game and he wants to do certain things. I understood some of it. The PGA Tour were telling all their players, 'these are the bad guys that are coming to take over our tour'. Two months later it's 'oh, we're actually going to do a deal'.
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