There was certainly a time when there would have been absolutely no chance of Rory McIlroy praising anything associated with LIV Golf.
Rory McIlroy was arguably the most outspoken critic of LIV Golf on the PGA Tour. The Northern Irishman was never afraid to make his feelings on the breakaway league very clear.
Of course, it was McIlroy many wanted to hear from once the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was announced in June 2023.
McIlroy’s stance on the game coming back together has certainly softened as time has gone on – though he has generally avoided praising LIV Golf itself.
Rory McIlroy’s comments on LIV Golf after the framework agreement was announced
Rory McIlroy praises ‘incredible’ LIV Golf event
The 36-year-old has accepted that the PIF is set to have a seat at the table should reunification be achieved. However, it would be a true shock if McIlroy teed it up at a LIV event at any stage in the coming years.
But interestingly, he has heaped praise on one tournament on the LIV schedule.
Speaking with FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA ahead of the Australian Open this week, McIlroy suggested that he has been impressed by how LIV have tapped into the market Down Under.
“The landscape of men’s professional golf in particular is a little complicated at the minute,” he said, when asked about being an elder statesman of the game now.
“I have spent some time with Adam [Scott] on the board of the PGA Tour and trying to make that as good as it can be. You have got these other tours, obviously LIV. And I think what LIV has done here in Australia has been amazing. The tournament in Adelaide looks absolutely incredible, especially in a country that has sort of been starved of big time golf events. I think they have done a really, really good job.
“But for me it’s more I didn’t like the fracture in the game and the fact that the only time that all the best players get to go up against each other are in the four major championships.
“I feel like golf needs to be more than that because if all the best players in the world are only getting together four times, golf needs to be relevant more than four times a year, and that is my big concern. I just don’t want it to rip itself apart.
“The majors are always going to be the majors but I think we need big things other than that to get us through the year and be relevant at least once if not twice a month on a global stage.
“Even if you look at this week, we have this tournament here and there is a tournament happening in South Africa and a tournament happening in the Bahamas. I don’t know if that divides eyeballs. I think it would be great if we were all together playing in one big tournament and maybe that could happen sometime down the road.
“I commend people for trying different things and trying something new. I don’t think golf was broken to begin with but hopefully we can get there. But it has been a complicated time and I think everyone just wants to see the best players in the world compete against each other.”
A rare instance where Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau are in agreement
Adelaide certainly seems to have become the marquee event on the LIV schedule. It is perhaps the week which offers the biggest contrast with a PGA Tour tournament.
And it seems that this may be a rare instance where McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau agree with each other.
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Speaking after the opening round of this year’s event, DeChambeau claimed that it probably does not get better than LIV Golf Adelaide.
“I know it’s going to continue to be bigger and better each and every year. Certainly this is one of the best LIV events if not the best LIV event on our schedule, and it’s a joy coming back here with the fans and the people and the atmosphere,” he said, when asked about the event’s future.
“This is what LIV Golf is about. This is what we all thought it was going to be every single week, and it’s going to get there. We’re going to work to continue to make that happen.”
Perhaps McIlroy and DeChambeau would disagree over the way forward for the game. However, there is no doubt at all that elite golf should be heading to Australia more often than it currently does.
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