Rory McIlroy says the golfers took matters into their own hands when organizing The Showdown exhibition match between four PGA Tour and LIV Golf players to show fans they're trying to heal the men's game's great divide.
McIlroy has been a central figure in the previous war of words between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, but is now trying to play a leading role in bringing the sport back together.
The Northern Irishman will partner Scottie Scheffler against Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in The Showdown in Las Vegas on 17 December.
And the four-time Major champion says it was the players themselves who worked to arrange the made-for-TV match to offer up something new for golf fans, and to show that they're trying to work together for the sport's future.
Like almost everyone connected with the sport, McIlroy is frustrated at the glacial pace of talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF - with The Showdown a glimpse of a future where the best players from both sides compete more often.
“I don’t know if it was to spur things with everything that went on, it was really about us taking this into our own hands a little bit and do something outside of either tour to not only give back to the fans, but to show them or at least let them know we’re trying,” McIlroy said during a conference call to promote The Showdown.
“The players want to play together more often. I feel like we’re all in this holding pattern because of the negotiations and the deal and it’s not really good for anyone.”
McIlroy revealed that the PGA Tour, which has not promoted the event at all, took some convincing to sign a release for him and Scheffler to take part, but is now backing them.
“They’ve [PGA Tour] been very supportive,” McIlroy said. “It took a few conversations to get them to the point where they saw this could be a good thing in the long run. It took a few conversations. It wasn’t all smooth sailing but we got there in the end.”
World No.1 Scheffler joined McIlroy on the call and echoed his thoughts - saying he was keen to just get back to competing against the best golfers in the world.
“I think we’d love to see everybody back together,” said Scheffler. “What I love most is the competition. All this talk about LIV and PGA Tour and money. I think most of us just want to get back to the competition.
“To have an event where we’re playing against each other, we don’t get to do that often. It’ll be fun to get together and compete.
"I think we need to start focusing on the competition aspect of it. Ideally, I think the end goal here is to get the game of golf back together.”
