Rory McIlroy was one of the most outspoken critics of LIV Golf over the last year. And it appears that LIV Golf was paying attention.
One of the major innovations LIV brought to pro golf was the team format. As the discussions mount about how to incorporate the team format with the current PGA Tour players, golf reporter Alan Shipnuck reports that one LIV executive doesn’t think Rory McIlroy will be in high demand.
“Now we can finally get Hideki [Matsuyama] and Jon Rahm. I would say every big name on the PGA Tour will get an offer. Except Rory. Nobody wants that little bitch on their team,” the executive said to Shipnuck.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits his first shot on the 3rd hole during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf & Country Club on June 08, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, in his first public comments since the merger, McIlroy said he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” in the merger process and reiterated that he still “hates” LIV.
“It is hard for me not to feel like a sacrificial lamb,” McIlroy told reporters at the RBC Canadian Open. “I put myself out there.”
Indeed, McIlroy became one of the staunchest defenders of the PGA Tour during its faux war with LIV. He called former PGA Tour golfers who bolted for the rival league “duplicitous” and turned down a rumored nine-figure deal to stay with the Tour.
As the New York Post reports, The team format was already expected to be a massive money maker, with teams being valued at $500 million. Under the LIV setup, the PIF owns 75% of the teams, and the captains own 25%. The PIF(the Saudi investment firm run by the Saudi government) is banking on selling the 12 LIV Golf teams in order to get its investment back, according to Shipnuck.”
It seems like McIlroy has some fence-mending to do if he wants to captain one of those teams or even get on one.