PGA Tour loyalist Rory McIlroy and LIV Golf poster boy Brooks Koepka are set for an awkward reunion this week, after being paired alongside each other at the US Open.
After a monumental week following the announcement that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were putting their differences aside to sign a merger, attention now turns to the action on the course for the second major championship of the year at Los Angeles Country Club. All eyes were on Monday's tee time announcement, amid the ongoing off-course drama.
And the one group that caught the eye was that of McIlroy and Koepka, who will also be joined by 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama across round one and two on Thursday and Friday.
McIlroy has not held back in his criticism of LIV Golf since its emergence last summer, having stayed as loyal as anyone to the PGA Tour. Koepka meanwhile has emerged as the breakaway circuit's main man in recent months, becoming LIV's first major champion since its formation when winning the PGA Championship in May.
Despite their differences, the pair are now set to spend two straight days and 36 holes together when they tee it up alongside Matsuyama this week. After a tough few months, McIlroy heads into this week's major on the back of three top-10 finishes, having finished in a tie for ninth at last weekend's RBC Canadian Open.
The tournament in Toronto was of course dominated by the Tour's shock announcement to team up with LIV, and one person everybody in the world of golf wanted to hear from was McIlroy, having repeatedly slammed the breakaway league over the past 12 months.
Despite playing such a huge role in the PGA Tour's restructure over the past year, the Northern Irishman admitted to only finding out about the merger at the same time as everyone else. "I learned about it pretty much at the same time everyone else did," he said.
"Yeah it was a surprise but I knew there had been discussion going on. I knew lines of communications were open... When I look at the bigger picture and I look ten years down the line, I think this will be good for the game of golf."
Despite seemingly being open to the idea, McIlroy still believes those who left the PGA Tour - including his US Open partner Koepka - should not be welcomed back with open arms. "There still has to be actions," the Northern Irishman added. "The people who left the PGA Tour... we can't just let them back in"
