Rory McIlroy Wishes He Didn't Get 'as Deeply Involved' in PGA Tour, LIV Golf Drama
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVMay 29, 2024
Rory McIlroy wishes he would have taken a step back in the past when it came to the divide between the PGA Tour and LIV.
"In hindsight, I wish I hadn't gotten as deeply involved in it, and I've articulated that," McIlroy said Wednesday, per Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated. "I hold no grudge, I hold no resentment over the guys that chose to go and play on LIV. Everyone's got their own decisions to make and everyone is, has the right to make those decisions.
"My whole thing is I'm just disappointed to what it's done to—not to the game of golf, the game of golf will be fine—but men's professional golf and this sort of divide we have at the minute."
When LIV was initially created and took some notable names from the PGA Tour, few if any were as outspoken about it as McIlory.
Whether it was saying he hated the league so much he'd rather retire than join it or leading a 2022 meeting alongside Tiger Woods and with other PGA Tour players attempting to combat LIV's influence, he was one of the public faces of the divide.
However, he has softened his position of late and even said in January was "too judgmental" of those players who left the PGA Tour for LIV.
Still, he pushed back on rumors that he would join LIV on a $850 million deal when he told Golf Channel's Todd Lewis last month he will remain on the PGA Tour for the remainder of his career:
Golf Channel @GolfChannelRory McIlroy didn't mince words to <a href="https://twitter.com/ToddLewisGC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ToddLewisGC</a> about his commitment to the PGA TOUR.<br><br>More on this at 5 p.m. ET on <a href="https://twitter.com/GCGolfToday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GCGolfToday</a>. <a href="https://t.co/WqB6MffhzX">pic.twitter.com/WqB6MffhzX</a>
While Harig noted that McIlroy resigned from his position as a player-director on the PGA Tour Policy Board last November and was "rebuffed by other board members" when he was looking to potentially return, he is still part of a group with Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan that is engaged in ongoing negotiations about potentially entering an agreement to merge with LIV down the line.
"Hopefully, we're on a path to sorting that out and getting that to come back together," he said. "I mean, in hindsight, hindsight's always 20/20, but in hindsight I wish I hadn't had gotten as deeply involved as I have."