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McIlroy has become a LIV-Golfers sympathiser, and this conversion gives away everything
LIV Golf's rapid success surprises as Rory McIlroy shifts from strong criticism to support, expressing sympathy for players who defected.
It's extraordinary how LIV Golf has changed perceptions in such a short time. Nobody had predicted this kind of success. All their enemies from two years ago are their friends now, at least most of them.
The latest convert is four-time major champion Rory McIlroy; not exactly the latest but for the first time since the inception of LIV Golf he has shown that he has well and truly softened towards the Saudi league. His current stance is unbelievable.
Nobody criticised LIV Golf and its players as much as McIlroy did in the last couple of years. He ridiculed the league and its players relentlessly. He didn't want them in the Ryder Cup. Basically, he treated them like the untouchable... using the Indian context here. All through the past year he was particularly after LIV golfer Phil Mickelson. Tiger Woods and he even formed a tech-infused league – now postponed to 2025 – apparently to rival the Saudi league. Such was his dislike for the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the bank-rollers of LIV Golf.
The same McIlroy has been singing a different tune for the past couple of months but his words at The Overlap smack of a totally new stance. Even after the merger of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf in June, he continued his venomous attack. His dislike then turned to disinterest. He refrained from attacking the Saudi league. His disinterest has now changed to sympathy. A rollercoaster of emotions!
"I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start, and I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position or Tiger Woods' position.
"We all turn professional to make a living. I can't judge people for making that decision so, if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgmental at the start," said the world number two.
Last month, Jon Rahm, a crucial player in Europe's Ryder Cup win in Rome in October, joined LIV Golf from the PGA Tour in what was a massive coup for the Saudis. That development kind of gave away that the merger was now close to finalisation and that LIV Golf had bargained well for its share of power and influence. McIlroy appeared to have no problems with Rahm’s move and shortly afterwards said that the Spaniard should be in the Ryder Cup squad for the 2025 edition. It should not come as a surprise if McIlroy ends up playing in some LIV Golf events going forward. Believe it or not, he has uttered the following sentences on The Overlap, run by former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville.
"I would love LIV to turn into the IPL of golf... If they were to do something like that I would say 'yeah that sounds like fun' because you are working within the ecosystem."
The 34-year-old Northern Irishman's volte-face says it all. He is one of the most influential PGA Tour players and not long ago he beat Tiger Woods in the Player Impact Program (PIP) as the most interest-generating PGA Tour player in the media in 2023 and took home a whopping $15 million. The PIP was introduced in 2021 and Woods won it in the two years before despite playing so little. One wonders if these accolades have made McIlroy more understanding.
Rahm is reportedly set to make upwards of $500 million after his deal with LIV Golf. McIlroy appears to disapprove of such astronomical deals though. He rather wants the money spent on development programs at the grassroots level. But don't be surprised if he changes his position on this too in the coming months.
The Saudis have won the battle. They have succeeded in changing the order of the golf world. The winds of change are likely to blow even longer. Going forward, anything can happen, and PGA Tour and DP World Tour fans should be prepared to embrace whatever comes to pass, including Woods playing in LIV Golf. Anything is possible now. The fans have got to convert too.
