Rory McIlroy was one of the staunchest defenders of the PGA Tour throughout its civil war with LIV Golf, and after the merger news was announced Tuesday, he admitted he wasn’t thrilled with how the saga ended.
Speaking for the first time since the merger was announced, McIlroy took questions Wednesday at the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto in the wake of the bombshell news that the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour would all come together in one umbrella.
The Northern Irishman, 34, said he was “surprised” by the deal when it was announced Tuesday morning.
“It is hard for me not to feel like a sacrificial lamb,” McIlroy said. “I put myself out there.”
McIlroy has been the PGA Tour’s de facto spokesperson over the past year as LIV poached some of the top golfers in the world — including Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith — offering massive sums of guaranteed cash supplied by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
The world’s third-ranked player, McIlroy remained on the PGA Tour despite a rumored nine-figure offer to join LIV and became a vocal opponent of the rival tour. At different points he said LIV “legitimizes” Saudi Arabia’s place in the world and called players who took the money and left the PGA Tour “duplicitous.”
“I still hate LIV,” McIlroy said. “Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away, and I fully expect that it does.”
Now, after refusing the Saudi money and becoming a mouthpiece for the PGA and integrity in golf, McIlroy had to watch with the rest of the world as the PGA Tour he so fervently defended eschewed all that integrity it talked so much about, taking a massive investment from the Saudis’ PIF in the merger.
“I learned about it at pretty much the same time that everyone else did,” McIlroy said. “And yeah, it was a surprise. I knew there had been discussions going on in the background, I knew that lines of communication had been opened up. I obviously didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it did.”
Under the terms of the merger, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, will act as chairman for the new golf entity that will result from the three leagues coming together.
Jay Monahan, currently the commissioner of the PGA Tour, will act as CEO.
There have been calls for Monahan to step down following his complete 180 from attacking LIV and its backers at every turn to accepting the Saudi money without warning.
When asked if he still has confidence in Monahan as the commissioner, McIlroy said, “I do.”
“Removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf, there’s no denying it,” he said. “For me as an individual, there’s just going to have to be conversations that are had.
“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.”
“We can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen. That’s what Jay was trying to get across yesterday.
Everything to know about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
PGA Tour and LIV Golf are ending a war — by joining forces.
The two golf leagues, along with the European DP World Tour, are merging into one company after a period of fierce rivalry, one where LIV Golf defectors were banned from competing on the Tour.
LIV, financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and led by legendary golfer Greg Norman, lured some of the top names in golf last year with reported nine-figure contracts, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Other huge golf names, however, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, stayed loyal to the Tour, despite being offered a massive amount of money.
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Norman said last year Woods turned down a payday in the range of $700 million-$800 million to stick with the PGA Tour.
With the merger, the Saudi-backed LIV and the Tour are ending an antitrust battle and agreed to end all litigation between the two sides.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model.”
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“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.
Monahan said Tuesday that there is a plan to allow players who defected from the PGA Tour to return following the 2023 season.
Those players reportedly will face fines if they want to get their Tour cards back, though the fines are unlikely to be anywhere near the same amount as what they received to join LIV.
“We can’t just welcome them back in,” McIlroy said. “That’s not going to happen. That’s what Jay was trying to get across yesterday.
“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.”
As a whole, McIlroy was positive about the future of the game.
“Removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf, there’s no denying it,” he said. “For me as an individual, there’s just going to have to be conversations that are had.”
That said, it was quite clear the World No. 3’s feelings around LIV and the PIF are complicated, and emotions are still raw.
“I still hate LIV,” McIlroy said. “Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away, and I fully expect that it does.”
