TORONTO — Rory McIlroy speaks to the media after playing in the Pro-Am of the RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club on June 07, 2023. | Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
McIlroy reacted to the news of the PGA Tour merging with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund for the first time publicly.
Rory McIlroy has spoken up.
Following the announcement of the PGA Tour aligning itself with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), McIlroy met with the media after his Wednesday pro-am at the RBC Canadian Open.
“I hate LIV. I hope it goes away,” McIlroy said, revealing his true feelings about the Saudi-backed LIV Golf. “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.”
Since its inception in 2022, LIV Golf has paid millions of dollars to former PGA Tour stars to join the breakaway tour.
Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau are just some of the big names that defected.
Headed by former world number one Greg Norman, LIV Golf tournaments have taken place across the globe, from New Jersey to Australia to Saudi Arabia. They also play music and have created a party-like atmosphere, touting themselves as “golf but louder.”
McIlroy has liked none of it.
Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
TORONTO — Rory McIlroy signs autographs for fans following the Pro-Am of the RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club on June 07, 2023.
For more than a year, McIlroy has criticized LIV Golf while also sticking up for the PGA Tour. He long defended the PGA, Commissioner Jay Monahan, and everything his tour stands for.
That all came crashing down on him with Tuesday’s announcement, as McIlroy admitted he felt like “the sacrificial lamb.”
Despite his feelings toward LIV Golf, McIlroy accurately points out that this merger does not involve the breakaway league.
“With the headlines being, ‘merges with LIV,’ like that’s not the [case],” McIlroy said. “If you look at the structure of how it’s structured now, this new company sits above everything. [Monahan is] the CEO of that. So technically, anyone that is involved with LIV now would answer to [Monahan]. So the PGA TOUR has control of everything.”
McIlroy’s feelings toward LIV Golf differ from how he feels about the PIF, which has more than $600 billion in assets.
“Whether you like it or not, the PIF was going to keep spending the money on golf,” McIlroy admitted. “At least the PGA Tour now controls how that money is spent. So, you know, if you’re thinking about one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy? At the end of the day, money talks, and you would rather have them as a partner.”
