Rory McIlroy has been an outspoken critic of the LIV Tour and the impact it has had on professional golf. McIlroy would have been a big fish catch for LIV, and I’m sure they made a serious run at him. McIlroy has had a very successful career on the PGA Tour and so switching tours would be more than a matter of money and lifetime financial security. McIlroy’s comments lately have been more muted. His latest comments are far from his prior rants, to a point where it was rumored that he might be headed to the LIV Tour. There is a good analogy to McIlroy’s behavior, as a year ago Jon Rahm stated that he would never leave the PGA Tour, only to join LIV at the end of 2023. McIlroy decided to clear the air again, prior to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and stated that he was committed to the PGA Tour. McIlroy, unlike Rahm, has prioritized his goal to continue his standing and reputation to be the best player in the world. Rahm, a former No. 1 in the world, prioritized the financial gain offered by LIV. McIlroy misses the competition of playing against those professionals that have left the PGA Tour for LIV. Current LIV player, Cameron Smith, bested McIlroy at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in 2022, came from behind to beat McIlroy, who had led the tournament most of the way. McIlroy, for the moment, is prioritizing his reputation and opportunity for greatness against the LIV lure of substantially more compensation. For the time being, McIlroy believes that a player’s achievements and legacy are more important than money. He can take the position of staying inside the PGA Tour, since he’s made plenty of money and he has great opportunities to win in coming major events. He is one of the few players that has taken this position. McIlroy stated that he cherishes the achievement to have his name engraved on a tournament victory with the likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. McIlroy, in his comments, also stated that he would like the see the tour figure out some way that the LIV players can play with their PGA Tour counterparts. It seems to me that McIlroy’s current play may be impacted somewhat by the PGA Tour/LIV conundrum, as off the course issues can be subtle factor to a player’s performance. McIlroy should be dominating the PGA Tour with his outstanding strength from tee to green, but his putting has been preventing him from winning tournaments. Scottie Scheffler is another great example. Scheffler is No. 1 in the world and his putter has prevented him from completely dominating the tour. Scheffler solved the putting issue this week with a terrific performance in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where his ball-striking and putting enabled to a big win. Time will tell what McIlroy will ultimately do after his comments this week–the PGA Tour hopes that it is not the precursor of another decision that Jon Rahm made a year ago. McIlroy skied to a 76 in the final round of the Arnold Palmer relegating him to a 21st position.
The State of the LIV/PGA Tour
The 2024 PGA Tour season is off to a fairly unusual start with a number of first-time winners, bad weather and the dark cloud of the merger with LIV unresolved. Purses are larger and the designated event concept has been adopted for some of the tournaments primarily to ensure that the top players participate. Despite the improved purses, the schism in professional golf continues to be the headline story as last year’s rumor of a merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV has yet to be consummated. Golf chatterboxes are fraught with guesses, hype, misinformation and innuendo about what exactly might transpire. PGA Tour players continue to leave the tour and sign with LIV most recently Terrell Hatton. Former PGA star and US Ryder Cup hero Anthony Kim returned to the professional game under the LIV banner. Kim finished last in his first LIV event but his return is a good omen for the game. The lack of closure on the merger issue and the general lack of transparency as to where the tours are headed are not good looks for the PGA Tour. Meanwhile the LIV carries on with its music, team competitions, shorts and great television coverage on the CW network (yes, the CW network)
McIlroy has decided to stay on the PGA Tour (for now) and hopefully the season will produce some fireworks as the Masters approaches in April.
Joe if the PGA is truly trying to grow the game then why are they charging $650 to play the TPC Stadium course which is their showcase. This is far out of the reach of the average golfer.