The split between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continues to be one of the most talked about topics in professional golf. And it’ll continue to be that way until both sides come to some sort of an agreement/union/merger of some sort. Rory McIlroy has long been leading the charge for the PGA Tour and has remained loyal throughout. Even though he has softened his criticism of players who have joined the LIV Tour . On Wednesday ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, McIlroy explained why he won’t go to LIV.
Rory McIlroy on his stance with LIV Golf
“It’s not for me. It’s the…I’m too much of a traditionalist. I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing Sam Snead on the trophy or Ben Hogan or Gene Sarazen or Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player, Tiger Woods. Whoever it is. The people that came before me. That to me, is a big deal in our game,” McIlroy said.
“If we were all to put our heads together and be like what can we do to all come back together and move forward and be a little more cohesive. And I would sort of be for that,” McIroy said.
McIlroy’s words are nice and all, but fans have heard similar speeches from other players before (Jon Rahm) and they have since moved onto LIV Golf because of the insane amount of money being offered there. And who can blame them? If somebody offers you a bigger paycheck and you have to work less hours. People will take that in any job. That’s just a fact. Until there is some sort of real merger/agreement/settlement between both tours people will always ask. Does Rory have a price?
The key question will be moving forward if LIV and the PGA Tour can both find a way to coexist peacefully. Fans are tired of hearing multi-millionaires whine over money. There are plenty of people out there simply trying to survive. And in their free time watching golfers, they simply don’t want to hear the non-stop fighting.
The issue of LIV tour members being able to qualify for the majors is another big issue that needs to be settled among the two parties, among others. There’s enough premiere talent within LIV Golf that the tour can no longer be ignored, whether the PGA Tour wants to try and use certain leverage on them or not.
Can both tours coexist? There seem to be plenty of hurt feelings/words still being exchanged on both tours. The fact of the matter is both groups of players need to come together for the majors. Try to maintain some sort of peace and just play the game at a high level. Those are the events that golf fans want to watch the most and they get the highest ratings for a reason: the fields are the strongest and the courses are the hardest.
For now, the future of golf faces more questions than it has answers.
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