Rory McIlroy
- He became the de facto mouthpiece of the opposition to the project
- “I have accepted the fact that this is now part of our sport”
PA Media
Rory McIlroy has admitted he was “too biased” in his criticism of those who joined the breakaway LIV Golf Tour. McIlroy took a forceful stance against big business, which was tempting a host of top names with lavish salaries and upsetting the established order of the PGA and European Tours.
He has become the de facto voice of opposition to the project that continues to divide the sport, saying last year at the Ryder Cup in Rome that Sergio García, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter would miss being part of the European team more than they did themselves are missed.
PGA Tour confirms talks with LIV and DP World Tour extended through 2024
As negotiations over a merger between the rival parties continue, McIlroy has taken a cautious step toward rapprochement. “Maybe I judged the guys who went to LIV Golf a little bit in the beginning,” he said. “It was a small mistake on my part because I realize now that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods' position.
“I can’t judge people for making this decision. So if I have any regrets, it's probably that I was too biased in the beginning. I wouldn't say I lost the fight against LIV, but I just accepted the fact that this is now part of our sport. We’re professional golfers and we play for a living and to make money, so I understand that.”
McIlroy remains unhappy with those who criticized the established tours after the exit, but accepted that the Saudi intervention had shone a light on issues that had been overlooked for too long. “I don’t blame anyone for going and taking the money and doing something else, but don’t try and burn the place down on the way out,” he added, speaking to Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast .
“When people have played this for 15 or 20 years and then jump to LIV and start talking crap about where they come from, that bothers me because otherwise they wouldn't be in this position to have the career that they've had so far. What LIV did…it exposed some of the flaws in the system and hopefully golf will look at it more.
“If we ask these people [sponsors] For that much money, we have to be able to guarantee them what they will get. Part of the things we've been trying to do over the last two years is trying to figure out how we can try to bring golf back together and learn from some of the things that have happened.
“I would like LIV to be almost like the Indian Premier League of golf. In IPL cricket, they're two months in the calendar – you've got four weeks in May and four weeks in November – and you do that teamwork. It's a little different and it's a different format. If they did something like that, I think it would be fun. At least they work within the ecosystem.”
Jon Rahm became LIV's latest high-profile acquisition in a matter of weeks after helping Europe win the Ryder Cup triumph, a move McIlroy described as a calculated move given negotiations between rivals Tours. “It was a smart business move by Jon – it’s opportunistic,” he said. “[He] doesn't have the same heat as the first guys.
“Jon is a smart guy and I think he sees things coming together at some point, so he's thinking he'll take the upfront money, which is his prerogative, and if things come together he'll play LIV for a year and then come back to play on the tour.”
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