“I am committed to playing on the PGA Tour for the rest of my career,” Rory McIlroy dismisses LIV Golf rumors.
A consistent trend has emerged in professional golf over the past two years, which can be summarized as follows: Whenever rumors circulate that a PGA Tour player is about to sign with LIV Golf, they often end up signing with them. Although it’s not always true, this pattern held for notable players such as Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton among others. Therefore when City AM- a London financial newspaper reported citing multiple sources who stated that Rory McIlroy was on the verge of agreeing to an $850 million deal along with 2 percent equity stake in LIV Golf , fans had reason to believe there might be some substance behind these rumours .
During the RBC Heritage on Tuesday, McIlroy put an unequivocal end to those speculations.
He made it clear to Todd Lewis of Golf Channel that there is no doubt about him playing on the PGA Tour for the entirety of his career.
A video clip of the interview is presented below:
“I really have no idea how these rumors originate,” he stated. “I’ve never received any invitations from LIV, nor have I ever entertained the thought of attending their events. As I’ve reiterated time and again over the past couple of years, it’s not my cup of tea… My focus lies solely on making a name for myself in PGA Tour and nothing has changed about that.”
On Tuesday, Sean O’Flaherty, McIlroy’s manager, dismissed the reports of a deal as “fake news” and having no truth in an email sent to the Irish Independent. However, it was not evident which aspect of the report he meant precisely, thus leaving some room for uncertainty.
In contrast, McIlroy’s statement appears to firmly close the door.
“Discussing it has never been on our agenda,” he stated. “It’s simply one of those unavoidable aspects that come with the territory, and sadly this is how things stand in our industry.”
According to McIlroy, the source of these rumors is unknown to him. He made it clear that he holds no judgment towards those who have attended or plan on attending LIV. Over the past three years, his views on LIV Golf have shifted and become more lenient, especially following Rahm’s exit from PGA Tour for LIV.
Once a prominent advocate for the PGA Tour, McIlroy’s role as its leading player spokesperson has diminished. In February, his ex-manager Chubby Chandler implied that this change in stature could be an indication of him joining LIV. But now it appears that McIlroy has firmly ruled out any such prospect altogether.
