Rory McIlroy Sticks to Football

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Rory McIlroy is in the news for making comments about LIV Golf.

In an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, McIlroy fielded many questions about the history of LIV’s entry into the sport, how he feels about the current relationship between the two leagues, the role Saudi Arabia’s PIF is carving in professional sports, and what he hopes happens to professional golf moving forward. It was a well-paced, balanced interview that is worth your time and attention.

What hasn’t been so balanced is the coverage the interview has received across the golf industry. The reaction, in both headlines and quotes from others in golf, would make you think that McIlroy made a complete u-turn and is now ready to accept LIV with open arms. Hell, some publications literally said as much. Phil Mickelson, conveniently ignoring the role he played in the situation, tweeted that Rory’s quotes shouldn’t be used as “an opportunity to pile on. Rather, It’s time for me and others to let go of our hostilities and work towards a positive future.” Greg Norman added that he was “appreciative of Rory falling on his sword to some degree” and that all LIV wanted to do was “sit down and make them understand the value of what LIV’s footprint, business model, and impact can and has made on the game of golf.”

While McIlroy has accepted the fate of professional golf’s future and said he regretted some of his judgment of players who joined LIV, the way that his words have been twisted over the last 36 hours is worthy of Cirque du Soleil. Anyone who actually watched the interview could see that Rory is still not exactly happy with the state of the professional game and what has occurred over the last two years. Two quotes stand out in particular:

Asked if he felt as though he’d lost a fight: “I’ve went through the last two years with this altruistic approach of, I’ve sort of looked at the world in the way I’ve wanted to see it…I’ve accepted reality basically. This is what’s going to happen. 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 peoples’ minds…I don’t feel like I’ve lost a fight, I’ve just accepted that this is a part of our sport now”

On LIV’s emergence: “There was a way to do it where it wasn’t going to be this massive disruptor to the game and I think that’s the other thing to me. It’s created this massive upheaval in golf.

Don’t fall for the aggregation headlines and think that Rory has completely changed his tune on LIV. He, like most of us, is just exhausted with the proceedings and is ready to move on. “People need to put their egos and feelings aside and come back together and we all move forward because that would be what’s best for golf,” he said. The sooner, the better.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.