Rory McIlroy May Feel Like A 'Sacrificial Lamb,' But Is Saying All The Right Things Following The PGA Tour - LIV Golf Merger
Nobody has waved the PGA Tour flag prouder than Rory McIlroy over the last two-plus years. From the moment LIV Golf was merely just a rumor and not even a properly formed golf league, McIlroy took on the role as the unofficial spokesperson of the PGA Tour.
The four-time major winner wasn't portraying the anti-LIV narrative for purely selfish reasons, either. The PGA Tour has spent every waking moment of the last two years or so distancing itself from LIV Golf and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) that funds the rival league and McIlroy was tapped as the man to further push that agenda.
All that work McIlroy and the Tour did to distance themselves was erased on Tuesday when the PGA Tour announced that it has merged with the DP World Tour and the PIF.
The news, which he was only made aware of a few hours before the official announcement, had to feel like simultaneous swift kicks to the groin, chest, and chin of McIlroy.
Speaking with the media on Wednesday morning ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy reflected on how he felt in the moment when he realized all he had done was essentially a waste of time and energy.
"It's hard for me to not sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb and feeling like I've put myself out there and this is what happens," McIlroy explained.
Rory McIlroy is reacting to the PGA Tour - LIV Golf merger just as he should. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
While it's completely understandable for McIlroy to perhaps feel betrayed and foolish in the moment, he recognizes that the reality a year ago when LIV held its first event and the reality today are two very different things.
"I think ultimately, when I try to remove myself from the situation and I look at the bigger picture and I look at 10 years down the line, I think ultimately this is going to be, it's going to be good for the game of professional golf," McIlroy said. "I think it secures the -- it unifies it and it secures its financial future."
"The one thing I would say is, again, whether you like it or not, the PIF and the Saudis want to spend money in the game of golf. It is -- they want to do this. And they weren't going to stop." he continued.
"I've just resigned myself to the fact that this is, you know, this is what's going to happen. Like this is -- it's very hard to keep up with people that have more money than anyone else. And, again, if they want to put that money into the game of golf, then why don't we partner with them and make sure that it's done in the right way. And that's sort of where my head's at."
Rory McIlroy Is Refreshingly Dealing In Reality
That's not only the proper way to look at this entire situation, but the only way to look at it.
McIlroy admitting to "they weren't going to stop" is the takeaway here.
When LIV officially arrived last June most assumed that it would do its own thing and all battles between itself and the Tour would be handled in a courtroom. The Saudis would be bleeding money putting on golf tournaments around the world, paying players hundreds of millions, all while racking up court fees in the process.
The PGA Tour had that same thought but added the caveat that the Saudis would get sick of lighting money on fire and fighting things out in a courtroom.
The reality is, the Saudi's pockets do not have a floor and the Tour quickly realized that they were going to do everything in their power to get a seat at the table and that's exactly what this merger is.
While most of the golf world took their time to realize that that's the reality we're dealing in, it's officially come to fruition.
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