The reason why Jordan Spieth’s comments in 2024 led to Rory McIlroy leaving a PGA Tour group text

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Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are two of the biggest names on the PGA Tour, and they have been for the past decade now.

Spieth and McIlroy are actually very friendly off the golf course but that doesn’t mean that they always see eye-to-eye on every single issue pertaining to the PGA Tour.

Back in 2015, Spieth and McIlroy held all four majors at the same time, after the Northern Irish won The Open and The PGA Championship in 2014 before the American triumphed in the first two majors the following year – The Masters and The US Open.

However, while McIlroy has gone from strength-to-strength since then, Spieth has regressed somewhat.

However, that doesn’t mean that the 32-year-old from Dallas isn’t still a hugely important figure on the PGA Tour.

Spieth has been described as a ‘needle-mover’ on the PGA Tour and because of that, he has been heavily involved in talks with fellow players and board members regarding the Tour’s future and the potential threat posed by LIV Golf.

Jordan Spieth’s comments in 2024 made Rory McIlroy leave a PGA Tour group text

In June 2023, a shock framework deal was announced between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

It was said that the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and LIV would merge together to form one unified commercial entity.

However, the in-depth deal began to stall not long after due to disagreements on the structure of any new entity.

Then, after SSG’s (Strategic Sports Group) $3 billion investment into the PGA Tour, Spieth explained why a deal with PIF (Saudi Public Investment Fund) was no longer required.

Spieth said: “I just think it’s something that is almost not even worth talking about right this second given how timely everything would be to try to get it figured out.

“But the idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it’s operating right now without anything else with the option of other investors.”

According to Sports Illustrated, Spieth had an hour-long phone call with McIlroy after the Northern Irishman left a group text for the top PGA Tour players following the American’s remarks on PIF.

McIlroy, whose position on LIV and PIF had drastically changed from his initial stance, explained that while he understood Spieth’s comments, he wasn’t too happy to hear them.

The Northern Irishman said: “My thing was if I’m the original (potential) investor that thought that they were going to get this deal done back in July, and I’m hearing a board member say that, you know, we don’t really need them, now, how are they going to think about that, what are they gonna feel about that?

“They are still sitting out there with hundreds of billions of dollars, if not trillions, that they’re gonna pour it into sport. And I know what Jordan was saying, I absolutely know what he was saying and what he was trying to say. But if I were PIF and I was hearing that coming from here, the day after doing this SSG deal, it wouldn’t have made me too happy, I guess?”

Rory McIlroy’s ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ claim about PIF

McIlroy suggested that it’s better to be with PIF than against them.

“Having PIF as your partner as opposed to not having them as your partner, I don’t think is an option for the game of golf,” McIlroy said. “I think they’re committed to investing in golf and in the wider world of sport and if you can get them to invest their money the right way to unify the game of golf.”

The bottom line right now, though, is the fact that the PGA Tour are in a really healthy position financially after the investment from SSG.

Viewing figures are through the roof, while LIV continue to struggle in that department.

Nearly two years after the disagreement between Spieth and McIlroy, it must be said that it looks like the American was right.

A potential merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf seems to be further away from happening than it ever has been before.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour rejected PIF’s latest offer to invest around $1.5 billion in April of this year.

The PGA Tour clearly do not need PIF or LIV Golf, and it would be interesting to know whether McIlroy now agrees with Spieth’s initial stance on the situation.