Rory McIlroy Having To Explain Differences Between LIV Golf, TGL Shows Some Media's Inability To Accept Reality | Mark Harris

Over the past two-plus years, the world of professional golf has been flipped upside down. It has been the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf, and there has been zero mingling between those who have pledged their allegiance to the traditional Tour and those who have supported the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit.

Players from both sides have thrown their fair share of jabs at one another for various reasons, sure, but the reality of the circumstance is that much of the feud, especially as of late, has been fueled by the media. LIV golfers Bubba Watson and Cam Smith made that exact point all the way back in March, and it's hard to argue their opinion eight months later.

Take the June announcement about the PGA Tour's plans to merge with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) for example.

Essentially everyone was guilty after the announcement was made of assuming the Tour was merging with LIV or that LIV was going to cease to exist, but the planned merger's main objective is for the Saudis to invest billions into the Tour to get a seat at the table of professional golf in the form of a yet-to-be-named for-profit entity.

While there are still many, many questions to be answered when it comes to the merger, the safest prediction one can make at the moment is that the Tour and LIV Golf will operate as entirely different circuits just as they have for the last two seasons.

Rory McIlroy shouldn't have had to explain that LIV Golf and the TGL have no similarities whatsoever. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

The Media's Inability To Slow Down And Accept A Fact

Most have accepted that likely outcome, but nevertheless, some are still addicted to spinning narratives involving the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf rivalry and the introduction of the new TGL virtual golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy is the latest example of that.

Since the TGL is simply not the PGA Tour, some have compared it directly to LIV as some sort of disruptive rival. That could not be further from the case seeing as how TGL has literally partnered with the Tour and doesn't feature any LIV players, but those very simple facts didn't keep someone from asking McIlroy a baited question not exactly based in reality.

“Rory, a lot of the things you were mentioning — expanding the demographics and kind of interactivity with players — are a lot of the same things we heard with LIV when they were starting up and trying to change golf and make it more louder," someone asked McIlroy during his Boston Common Golf introductory presser.

"Why is something you are excited about when was something you were notably not excited about?” 

Comparing LIV Golf To TGL Is A Waste Of Time

While McIlroy gave a thoughtful answer to the question, his answer is largely irrelevant, it's the fact that the question was even asked that paints this undone and lazy picture some in the media simply refuse to finish.

LIV Golf is a direct competitor to the PGA Tour. It quite literally poached some of the Tour's biggest names and hosts its tournaments on many of the same weekends the Tour does.

The Tour and TGL are working side by side, and in large part are simply trying something new out to see if golf fans have any interest in watching some of the game's biggest names play theatricized virtual golf on Mondays.

LIV is funded by the PIF and is associated by many as a sportwashing operation. TGL is hitting golf balls into a screen in Palm Beach, Florida.

LIV and TGL could not be any more different from one another, but two entirely different businesses having nothing to do with one another doesn't stir the pot if a spin could somehow be made that the two are comparable.

Follow Mark Harris on X @ItIsMarkHarris and email him at mark.harris@outkick.com