‘Can’t Believe They’ve Done So Well’: Rory McIlroy Explains How LIV Golf Has Exposed Flaws in the PGA Tour
Rory McIlroy and his earlier stance was never in favor of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League. However, after the PGA Tour announced the merger deal with PIF and his fellow European Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm made a switch to the Saudi-funded league, his perspectives seemed to have changed drastically. Recently, he pointed out how the league had highlighted some flaws in the Tour’s system in the past two years.
Once unapologetic, Rory McIlroy was seen praising LIV Golf and its efforts to throw some light on huge gaps in the PGA Tour system. While speaking in the recent episode of The Overlap podcast on YouTube, the Irishman said,
“I can’t believe they’ve done so well for so long. So, it’s actually exposed some flaws in the system that, hopefully, golf will have a look at more. If we’re going to ask these people for so much money, we need to be able to guarantee them what they’re getting.”
Rory McIlroy added that the PGA Tour was trying to “figure out” ways of building a bridge between the two divisions of golf that occurred after the inception of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League. He added that they were learning things from what had happened and the other stuff that was exposed by the breakaway series.
“I think that was part of the stuff that we’ve been trying to do for the last two years. To figure out how can we basically try and bring the thing back together again. Learn from some of the things that have happened and some of the stuff that LIV has exposed,” McIlroy said.
Rory McIlroy Advocates That “Dividing the Eyeballs” in Golf Not Good For the Game
McIlroy had a sudden change of heart when he somewhat praised LIV Golf for bringing out flaws in the professional golf system. The four-time major winner stated that he always believed that the sport of golf was built on “meritocracy” which meant that golfers needed to perform better to earn rewards. However, the Saudi-backed league changed that concept.
While speaking in The Overlap podcast on YouTube, McIlroy stated that LIV Golf was a “massive disruptor.” However, he still felt that there could have been better ways to do that instead of creating a “massive upheaval” which was sad for him to see.
The PGA Tour loyalist added that golf was a small spot, unlike Football which has a huge fan following. Henceforth, he felt dividing the viewership was not good for anyone associated with the game.
“It’s like some people have taken one side, some people have taken another. Golf’s a small enough sport. It’s not like football where you’ve got billions of fans. So, if you start dividing the eyeballs in professional golf, it’s no good for anyone. It’s just going to cannibalize itself.”
Soon after McIlroy’s comments were published, LIV Golf’s Phil Mickelson also took to his X (formerly Twitter) to express his gratitude towards the golfer’s change of heart. He pointed out that Jon Rahm’s signing had been working as a bridge to join the two sides, and they should embrace it.
Just like Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, it is expected that a lot of PGA Tour and LIV Golf players might let go of things sooner or later as the mega-merger deal approaches its finalization.
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