One of the faces of the PGA Tour against LIV has been superstar Rory McIlroy, and he finally spoke to reporters about the news.
McIlroy spoke at a press conference ahead of the RBC Canadian Open on Wednesday, June 7 and said he was also surprised by the news that shocked the world of golf on Tuesday morning.
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“I learned about it pretty much at the same time everybody else did,” McIlroy said. “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 quick as it did.”
McIlroy was a staunch critic of the LIV Tour, essentially turning into the voice of the PGA Tour in attempting to thwart the PIF-backed rival over the past several years. And while he says he feels like a “sacrificial lamb” in this scenario, he did say that PGA’s decision yesterday is good, at least for the game of golf.
“When I try to remove myself from the situation and I look at the bigger picture and I look at ten years down the line, I think ultimately this is going to be good for the game of professional golf,” McIlroy said. “It unifies it, and it secures its financial future.”
The PGA Tour was actually facing a financial crisis because of the threat of PIF. Broadcasting deals are the core of revenue for sports leagues, and PGA locked in its deal in 2020, right before the pandemic lockdowns and well before golf’s turf war. The deal was locked in at about $700 million per year until 2030.
But the PGA was forced to pump in a lot more investment, raising purses and changing its Tour style as a result of LIV’s threat of poaching its players.
McIlroy also said that he still hates LIV and fully expects it to “go away” while attempting to make it clear that the partnership is between the PGA Tour, DP Tour, and PIF.
“Whether you like it or not, the PIF were going to keep spending the money in golf. At least the PGA Tour now controls how that money is spent,” McIlroy said.
The four-time major players also said he’s empathetic of the many players whose Tour cards may be in jeopardy given the possible return of the LIV players to the new Tour.
“There still has to be consequences to actions,” McIlroy said. “The people who left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour, started litigation against it. We can’t just welcome them back in.”
