Rory McIlroy is making his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour this week, with the four-time major champion taking on the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
McIlroy wants an away Ryder Cup win this year, with the Northern Irishman set to represent Team Europe once more at the team tournament.
New York’s Bethpage Black plays host to the iconic competition in September, with McIlroy expecting a strong US Ryder Cup team.
First, however, McIlroy will be looking to find form on the PGA Tour, having just finished T4 at the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.
It was his first tournament since winning the DP World Tour Championship in November, with McIlroy among a host of world-class talents now looking to shine at Pebble Beach.
Rory McIlroy wrong about PGA Tour ‘missing three or four’ players after LIV Golf defections
However, before the action gets underway, he voiced his opinion on the current state of the PGA Tour, having been asked in his pre-tournament press conference for its top priority going forward.
“I think great venues like this one, I think that’s a big part of it,” said McIlroy. “I would say… honestly… the best players competing against each other a little more often, which we’ve tried to do on this tour.
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“Are we missing three or four guys that have gone elsewhere? Probably, but still the majority of probably the best players in the world are still here.”
It is certainly a big statement from the face of the PGA Tour, which has come at a time when the tour is definitely not in its best shape, especially in terms of viewership.
A total of 18 players withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines earlier this month, while fans criticised the PGA Tour for its poor coverage of Wesley Bryan at the tournament.
And it all, of course, comes amid the ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, with the rivals yet to agree on a solution for the greater good of the sport.
Which LIV Golf players are the PGA Tour missing after Rory McIlroy’s claim?
Top golfers like McIlroy need to realise the situation his tour is currently in, with a return to strong numbers now the hope after around five months of essentially very little action, or indeed very little exciting action.
World number one Scottie Scheffler has been absent in recent times with injury, while number two Xander Schauffele is set to miss this week’s event for the same reason after missing The American Express.
READ MORE: Xander Schauffele injury update provided by his team after his withdrawal from The American Express
Scheffler’s return will be a massive boost, but there should also be a feeling that a long list of other high-profile stars could have helped keep the momentum in the quiet periods.
LIV Golf icon Bryson DeChambeau would undoubtedly bring a huge following with him should he ever return to the PGA Tour, with the same to be said of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
Cam Smith, Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann would also be beneficial to the PGA Tour, while Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood could also arguably attract a greater audience than many of the players currently taking on Pebble Beach.
McIlroy is right in saying that the majority of the world’s best remain on the original tour, thanks to his presence and that of the likes of Scheffler, Schauffele and Collin Morikawa among others.
But it may have been a mistake to claim that only three of four of those to have defected to LIV Golf are currently being missed amid an evidently dry patch for the PGA Tour.
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