McIlroy says PGA Tour-LIV deal will ultimately be good for golf

Top golfer Rory McIlroy, who has become the unofficial face of the PGA Tour and resistance to Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf, capitulated on Wednesday to merging the two sides, saying “ultimately it will be good for the game.” Golf”.

“I still hate LIV,” said McIlroy, third in the overall PGA Men’s Tour standings, ahead of a tournament in Canada on Wednesday. “Whether you like it or not, (the public investment fund) will continue to spend money into golf. At least the PGA Tour now controls how the money is spent.”

McIlroy’s comments came a day after the PGA and Saudi Arabia’s PIF announced plans to jointly control professional golf’s commercial entities, resulting in a merger between the two sides after two years of wrangling within the sport.

The surprise union ends ongoing litigation between the PGA and LIV Golf, the rival tour attracting top competitors such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson with multimillion-dollar contracts.

McIlroy and PGA leadership have long opposed the Saudi competition with the Northern Irishman first saying that the LIV tour had “torn” the golf world apart and that he stayed with the PGA to “do all the right reasons”.

On Wednesday, McIlroy pointed to a framework agreement between the PGA and the PIF that would have Tour executive Jay Monahan as chief executive of the yet-to-be-named joint commercial entity. PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be chairman and the fund will have the right of first refusal for any future capital investments in the company.

“If you’re looking at one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, would you rather have them as partners or foes?” McIlroy said at a press conference ahead of the RBC Canadian Open. “At the end of the day, money talks and you want (PIF) as a partner.”

News of the PGA and PIF merger sparked outrage from families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, who said in a statement on Tuesday that “the PGA and Monahan have become overpaid Saudi shills, taking in billions of dollars.” ” Saudi prestige”.

Bryson DeChambeau, a professional golfer who attended LIV Golf last year, was asked by CNN on Tuesday how Saudi operatives unraveled Saudi links to the 9/11 attacks as well as the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“What happened is certainly terrible”, he said. “I think as time goes by, 20 years have passed and we are now at a place where it is time to start working together to make things better. , , (Saudi Arabia) trying to do good for the world and showcasing themselves in a light that hasn’t been seen in a while. No one is perfect but we are all trying to improve life.”