Rory McIlroy’s LIV Golf stance after resigning from PGA Tour role
Rory McIlroy decided to step down from the PGA Tour’s policy committee earlier this week as the US power continues negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Investment Fund.
Rory McIlroy has made no secret of his “disgust” with LIV Golf, but the Northern Irishman’s days of trying to stop the rise of the leading group are over after he quit the PGA Tour’s policy committee.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that McIlroy had stepped down as director of players of the Policy Council while the four-time winner was in the Middle East at the DP Tour World Championship.
Earlier in the day, McIlroy did not announce his decision to retire as he discussed a framework tour contract with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
During the interview, McIlroy was asked if he would like a position on the policy committee as part of ongoing negotiations with the PIF.
“Not particularly,” he answered bluntly.
That’s not what I signed up for when I joined the board.
“But yes, professional golf has evolved over the years.” The Northern Irishman’s decision to step down from the board comes five months after a surprise deal between the Tour and a Saudi Arabian foundation was announced.
Meanwhile, when discussing off-course offerings, McIlroy took the approach of talking more openly than anyone else about LIV Golf’s growth a year ago. The 2014 Open champion has often been told to focus on firsts as he pledges his commitment to the Tour.
After the shock peace deal, McIlroy reiterated his disdain for the Saudi-funded series.
In the days following the announcement of the major deal, the 34-year-old attended the RBC Canadian Open, once again showing his enthusiasm for the establishment of LIV.
“I still hate LIV,” he said in Toronto earlier this summer.
“This is why I hate LIV.
I hope it goes away.
And I expect it to be the same. I think that’s the difference.
These are the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF.
Very different from LIV.\”
“I was just trying to defend what the PGA Tour is and what the PGA Tour stands for.
And I think that will continue.
Look, I hope there will be a team element in the future.
You’ll probably see me or someone playing golf on the team in some way.
“But I think it doesn’t look like LIV, and that’s a good thing.” After putting in a lot of time, McIlroy decided to skip the press conferences at the U.S. Open and Open earlier this year.
He now aspires to finish second in the series thanks to the basic agreement.
But in the midst of two massive press conferences, McIlroy let his guard down after his stunning Scottish Open victory, reigniting a war of words over the Saudi-funded tournaments.
“I retire if LIV Golf is the last place in the world to play golf,” he boldly said.
\”That’s what I think.\”
One of the reasons McIlroy decided to leave the policy committee had to do with his new venture with Tiger Woods, the innovative TGL golf league that launched in January.
Beforehand, TGL drew several comparisons to LIV’s lineup, particularly due to their decision to add a team element to the competition.
Unsurprisingly, McIlroy was quick to dismiss the similarities.
“I think [TGL] is meant to complement professional golf, but at least it’s not disrespectful,” he said.
“Whenever Mike [McCarley] pitched this idea to Tiger and me, one of the first things I said was, ‘If we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to partner with the PGA Tour in some way .
Expand .’ …
Make “I don’t want to sit here and talk about LIV, but you could argue that they haven’t innovated enough in terms of traditional golf, or they’ve innovated too much in terms of traditional golf.
It’s a no man’s land and far from the bay as we know it.
