Rory McIlroy is not going to LIV Golf, and that’s straight from his mouth.
After weeks, if not months, of mounting speculation that McIlroy could take a 10-figure deal from the Saudi-owned league to join their breakaway circuit, he made it clear that isn’t going to happen.
Speaking with ESPN, McIlroy said, “It’s not for me. I’m too much of a traditionalist. I’m steeped in the… I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing Sam Snead won this trophy, or Ben Hogan or Gene Sarazen or Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods or Nick Faldo – whoever it is – the people that came before me. That, to me, is a big deal in our game.
“If we were to all put our heads together and be like, ‘OK, what can we do to all come back together and move forward and be a little bit more cohesive,’ then I’d be for that.”
No one was more vehemently against LIV Golf than Rory McIlroy. No one defended the PGA Tour more aggressively.
From afar, his stance seems to have softened. Speculation ensued.
At Bay Hill Weds I asked him directly what consideration he’s given to joining LIV:“It’s not for me.” pic.twitter.com/1rQiq6X94g
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) March 7, 2024
Rumors had mounted in recent weeks, even worrying some on the PGA Tour, that McIlroy was seriously considering the nuclear move to LIV Golf. McIlroy’s former agent, Andrew “Chubby” Chandler, suggested McIlroy could make the move — though he ultimately pegged the actual chances of the Ulsterman moving at 10 percent.
“If you were being cynical, you might say he’s going to sign for about £750 million in a month’s time with LIV because he’s paving the way that LIV’s okay now, whereas it wasn’t,” Chandler said to Bunkered. “Who knows? He doesn’t need £750m but it’s odd what he’s done and I’m sure it’s a possibility. If he does it or not, I don’t know, but if Rahm can do it, most guys can do it.”
Asked about those comments ahead of last week’s Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, McIlroy offered a cheeky response.
“I think he’s writing a book, so there is that,” McIlroy said. “I spoke to Chubby, I might have seen him in the Middle East at the start of the year. Never know. He might know a few things. Who knows?”
McIlroy has been one of the most vocal defenders of the PGA Tour since LIV Golf started in 2022. However, last summer, he resigned his position from the PGA Tour Policy Board and has reportedly been at odds with several of his high-profile peers on Tour about how to handle a potential deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which owns LIV Golf, and a potential welcome back of eligible players.
There has been a clear softening of McIlroy’s stance since the June 6 announcement of a framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund. Six months after that deal was made public, Jon Rahm signed with LIV Golf in a blockbuster deal that Rahm reportedly hoped would inspire a final compromise deal. While McIlroy publicly supported Rahm’s decision, his business partner Tiger Woods, who is now the vice-chairman of the board of the newly formed for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises, has not communicated with the Spaniard at all.
