Like many people, Rory McIlroy was caught off guard when he was informed of the news that the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and LIV Golf agreed to merge their business operations.
Speaking to reporters at the Canadian Open, McIlroy said PGA Tour board director Jimmy Dunne informed him of the news Tuesday morning and that he knew discussions had been going on in the background.
“I learned about it pretty much at the same time everyone else did,” McIlroy explained. “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.”
McIlroy said the positive side of the new deal is that it ends the ongoing litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf which he described as a burden for golfers and the tour.
“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,” McIlroy explained. “It unifies it and it secures its financial future. …We can start to work towards some sort of way of unifying the game at the elite level.”
He also admits that he would rather have the Saudi Arabian-based Public Investment Fund as a partner of the PGA Tour since they are committed to investing in the game of golf.
“One of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy?” McIlroy said. “At the end of the day, money talks and you’d rather have them as a partner.”
The No. 3 ranked golfer in the world also expressed his support for PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who reportedly received calls to resign from players on the tour Tuesday during a “heated” players meeting. However, McIlroy still remains heavily opposed to LIV Golf.
“I still hate LIV – I hope it goes away and fully expect that it does. This is the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and PIF,” McIlroy said. “We can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen. That’s what Jay was trying to get across yesterday.”
And while ultimately McIlroy does feel like this deal will be good for golf, he also admitted he felt like he was being left out to dry given his strong oppositions to LIV Golf in the past: “It’s hard for me not to sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb.”
