Rory McIlroy breaks silence on LIV Golf’s merge with PGA Tour after being told to ‘f*** off’ in X-rated blast
RORY MCILROY has broken his silence on LIV Golf’s merger with the PGA Tour.
That’s after he was reportedly told to “f**k off” in an X-rated blast by a fellow golfer.
Putters were left stunned after PGA chiefs revealed they were joining the Saudi-backed tour which had sparked a civil war in the game.
A meeting was held at the RBC Canadian Open on Tuesday night.
Golfers were left fuming at the feeling of being blindsided by the announcement, McIlroy included.
The 34-year-old told reporters: “I got a text message on Monday night from Jimmy Dunne, saying ‘can I give you a call in the morning’.
“Jimmy called me at 6.30am yesterday morning, took me through the news, the deal, the structure of the deal – what it meant for us, the DP World Tour.
“I learned about it pretty much at the same time everyone else did.
” It was a surprise. I knew there had been discussions going on in the background. I knew lines of communication had been opened up.
“I obviously didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it did.”
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And despite his reservations, he admitted he believes the move will be good for golf.
He said: “I think, ultimately, when I try to remove myself from the situation and look at the bigger picture and 10 years down the line, I think this is going to be good for the game of professional golf.
“It unifies it and it secures its financial future. There’s mixed emotions in there as well, as there is going to be.
“I don’t understand all of the intricacies of what is going on. There’s a lot of ambiguity and a lot of things still to be thrashed out.
“At least it means that the litigation goes away, which has been a massive burden for everyone involved with the tour and playing on the tour.
“We can start to work towards some sort of way of unifying the game at the elite level.”
Many called for the head of PGA, Jay Monahan, to stand down.
However, The Times claims things became heated between players as well.
It’s said that during a clash, McIlroy told fellow pro Grayson Murray to “just play better.”
This resulted in him telling the Northern Irishman to “f**k off.”
The report adds the pair “laughed off the incident afterwards.”
Later on, Monahan admitted the situation was extremely complex.
But he vowed the decision for PGA to merge with LIV was in everyone’s best interests.
Monahan said: “I would describe the meeting as intense, certainly heated.
“This is very complex. Obviously it’s been a very dynamic and complex couple of years and, for players, this is an awful lot to ask them to digest.
“This is a significant change for us in the direction that we were going down.
“But as I’m trying to explain and I will continue to explain as we go forward, this ultimately is a decision that I think is in the best interest of all the members of the PGA Tour.
“[It] puts us in a position of control, allows us to partner with the PIF in a constructive and productive way, to have them invest with us.”
McIlroy also backed the future of Tour under Monahan’s guidance, but revealed he remained angry at those who left the Tour before.
He said: “I’ve dealt with Jay a lot closer than a lot of those guys have and from where we were a couple of weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks brighter.
“What that looks like for individual players in terms of keeping a tour card, and bringing players back into the fold and then that, which sacrifices other people – that’s that’s where the anger comes from.
“I understand that and there still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this tour and started litigation against it.
“We can’t just welcome them back in, that’s not going to happen.
“And I think that was the one thing that Jay was trying to get across yesterday is, ‘Guys, we’re not just going to bring these guys back in and pretend like nothing’s happened’.
“I do have confidence in him.”
However, McIlroy has maintained that he retains his “HATE” for LIV.
He declared: “But it’s not LIV, I think that’s the thing. I still hate LIV, like I hate LIV. I hope it goes away and I will fully expect that it does.
“I think that’s where the distinction here is, this is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, under PIF, very different from LIV.
“All I’ve tried to do is protect what the PGA Tour is and what the PGA Tour stands for and I think I will continue to do that. So going forward I hope that there may be a team element.
“You’re gonna see maybe me, maybe whoever else, play in some sort of team golf but I don’t think it’ll look anything like LIV has looked. I think that’s a good thing.”
Asked whether golfers who remained loyal to the PGA should be compensated, he responded: “I mean, the simple answer is yes. The complex answer is how does that happen?
“That’s all a grey area, up in the air at the minute. It’s hard for me to not sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb. I’m feeling like I’ve put myself out there and this is what happens.”
On the PIF takeover, McIlroy added: “You’ve galvanised everyone against something, and that thing that you galvanised everyone against, you’ve now partnered.
“Of course I understand that it is hypocritical, it sounds hypocritical.
“Whether you like it or not, PIF and the Saudis want to spend money in the game of golf. They want to do this and they weren’t going to stop.
“The thing for me, and this is one thing that I’ve always thought about, how can we get that money into the game, but use it the right way? And I think that’s what ultimately will do.”