Rory McIlroy says an argument from Phil Mickelson that LIV Golf is the best way to prepare for Majors is “flawed.”
The World No.3 is preparing to take part in this week’s designated event on the PGA Tour, The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. That’s the latest in a packed schedule on the Tour, which contrasts with LIV Golf’s, which has only 14 tournaments throughout 2023.
That includes a month-long gap in the LIV schedule that began after last week’s event in Washington DC, leaving its players who have qualified for the US Open to concentrate on preparations for the third Major the year at Los Angeles Country Club.
Following the PGA Championship, where several LIV Golf players performed well, including winner Brooks Koepka, Mickelson wrote on Twitter: “Love LIV or hate it, it’s the best way/Tour to be your best in the majors. Enough events to keep you sharp, fresh and ready, yet not be worn down from too many tournaments or obligations. 14 LIV events, 34 weeks left open to prepare for the 4 majors. Fact.”
However, that’s an argument McIlroy is unwilling to accept, and he pointed out that while there are plenty of events on the PGA Tour, no one is obliged to play them all.
He said: “You know, no one makes anyone play 25 events on the PGA Tour. 15's the minimum. So you can play 15 and your four Major championships and there you go. You're at 19. No one's making you play that many. So I think that's a pretty flawed argument.”
Another player in the field for this week’s tournament is the one immediately ahead of McIlroy in the world rankings, Jon Rahm. When asked about Mickelson’s theory, he also met it with scepticism, saying: “Well, listen, Phil is a friend of mine, but what else is he going to say? Right? He's obviously going to advocate for his side and that's perfectly fine. I mean, listen, there's many ways to prepare for a tournament."
On the subject of LIV Golf players, McIlroy also said that Koepka deserves to be at the Ryder Cup but maintained that European LIV players shouldn’t. He said: "Brooks is definitely a guy that I think deserves to be on the US team. But I have different feelings about the European team and the other side and sort of how that has all transpired and, yeah, I don't think any of those guys should be a part of the European team."
