TORONTO — Rory McIlroy says he is resigned to the fact that the PGA Tour will have to accept money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, but he is convinced the LIV Golf League will not be part of the alliance.
Speaking to reporters ahead of this week’s RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, McIlroy said Wednesday that he believes the LIV golf tournament will be discontinued after this season.
“I still hate Liv,” McIlroy said. “gay Dislikes fiber. I hope it goes away, and I totally expect it to. I think that’s where the distinction is here. This is the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF – very different from LIV. “
McIlroy, one of the PGA Tour’s most outspoken loyalists during his 18-month battle with LIV Golf’s World’s Best Players Tour, said he still has faith in PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan but “it’s hard for me not to sit at the top here and feel a bit like I carry my sacrament and I feel like I put myself out there and that’s what happens.”
Monahan has been criticized for keeping members of the PGA Tour, including McIlroy, in the dark during negotiations with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which funds LIV Golf.
“I do,” McIlroy said of his confidence in Monahan. “And look, I got to deal with Jay a lot closer than a lot of these guys have. From where we were two weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks a lot brighter as a whole, as an entity.”
McIlroy said Monahan meeting more than 100 players on the PGA Tour on Tuesday was heated. McElroy said much of the frustration has come from players trying to keep their PGA Tour cards and fearing they will lose spots on future championship fields if LIV Golf players are allowed to return to the PGA Tour.
“There are still consequences for actions,” McIlroy said. “People who left the PGA Tour damaged this tour beyond repair, and started litigation against it. Like, we can’t welcome them back. That’s not going to happen.”
Monahan has suspended more than 30 PGA Tour members to compete in LIV Golf tournaments without conflicting releases, including former Grand Champions Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and more.
On Tuesday, Monahan said there was a plan in place that would allow those players to reapply for PGA Tour membership after the 2023 season. Monahan said he wouldn’t reveal details until the partnership with PIF and the DP World Tour is finalized.
McIlroy said he received a text from PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunn on Monday night, asking if they could talk the next morning. McElroy said he found out about the news from Dunne around 6:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, two hours before the other players learned of the partnership on social and other media.
McIlroy said Dunn told him, “Rory, sometimes you’ve got 280 water, you just gotta do it.”
“I told Jay you’ve turned everyone against something and now they’re our partners,” said McIlroy. “The Saudis want to spend money on golf and it’s not going to stop. How do we get that money into golf and use it the right way? … It’s hard to keep up with the people who have more money than everyone else.”
Overall, McIlroy said he thought the unlikely partnership would be good for golf.
“I think ultimately when I try to remove myself from the situation and look at the bigger picture, look at the bigger picture, and look at 10 years later, I think it’s ultimately going to be good for professional golf,” McIlroy said. I think it unites her and secures her financial future.