And the four-time major winner has at least one reason why.
He was speaking to ESPN’s Marty Smith on Wednesday, one day ahead of the start of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where Smith said via a post on Twitter on Thursday that he had asked McIlroy “what consideration he’s given to joining LIV.” The exchange was notable, considering McIlroy’s softening toward the league playing its third season.
His distaste toward the tour was perhaps never more clear than on June 7 of last year, just one day after the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, the backer of LIV, had tentatively reached a funding deal. Prior to that, McIlroy had been seen as a de facto spokesman for the Tour in its fight against LIV — and as part of his comments following the arrangement, he had wanted it to be known that it was not a merger between the leagues.
Twice, he said he “hated” LIV. Still, there had been a thought there would be uneasiness after the agreement partially brokered by Tour commissioner Jay Monahan — and McIlroy himself laid out why at the time.
McIlroy mentioned that he had told Jay about the situation the previous day.
He explained that by rallying everyone against something and then teaming up with that same thing, it comes across as hypocritical. He acknowledged the double standard in this scenario.
McIlroy was often asked about the subject after that, but he didn’t engage as much in the conversation. However, his tone seemed to change during a podcast appearance on Stick to Football in early January.
Among McIlroy’s quotes:
— “I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start. I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realize that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods’ position.”
* “I’ve gone through the last two years with this altruistic approach where I’ve looked at the world the way I’ve wanted to see it. Ultimately, you can say what you want and do what you want, but at the end of the day, you’re not going to be able to change people’s minds. You’re never going to make them decide based on what you say.”
* “I think what LIV has done, it’s exposed the flaws in the system of golf … I think what LIV and the Saudis have exposed is that you’re asking for millions of dollars to sponsor these events, and you’re not able to guarantee that the players are going to show up. I can’t believe the PGA Tour has done so well for so long.”
““I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now.”
Did McIlroy’s viewpoint change? Was he thinking about transferring to LIV? Chubby Chandler, McIlroy’s ex-agent, hinted at this in an interview with bunkered.co.uk last month.
Leading up to the Cognizant Classic last week, McIlroy had a conversation that is fully transcribed for clarity. Reporter: “Rory, when was the most recent time you had a conversation with Chubby Chandler?”
The reporter and a bystander chuckled while McIlroy smiled. Afterwards, the reporter proceeded with the conversation.
Journalist: “Can you provide insight into his motives for making those statements other than seeking attention?”
McIlroy: “I think he’s writing a book, so there is that. I spoke to Chubby — I might have saw him in the Middle East actually, at the start of the year. So you never know — he might know a few things. Who knows?”
Here, McIlroy laughed. The reporter then asked a second question.
Reporter: “Well, he started by saying there’s a good chance you’d go to LIV, and then he’s — at the end, it was 10 percent. So is there a percentage that …”
McIlroy, after a drink of water: “Somewhere in the middle maybe. Who knows.”
Smith shared his exchange via a 49-second video he tweeted out. He wrote that he had asked McIlroy directly “what consideration he’s given to joining LIV.”
This was the response.
“It’s not for me,” he began. “It’s the — I’m too much of a traditionalist. I’m too much of a — I’m steeped in the — I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing that Sam Snead won this trophy or Ben Hogan or Gene Sarazen or Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or Tiger Woods or Nick Faldo, whoever it is, the people that came before me. Like that to me is a big deal in our game.
“If we were to all put our heads together and be like, OK, what can we do to all come back together and move forward and be a little more cohesive, then I would sort of be for that.”
So what to make of McIlroy’s latest LIV response?
There are three pieces, though they are neither revelatory or shocking. LIV is not his preference. But there’s support for reunification. He desires history.
Still, there’s appreciation for Smith asking directly.