Getty Image / Andrew Powell
In a new interview, LIV Golf‘s loudest critic has changed his tune. Rory McIlroy sat down with Gary Neville on The Overlap and discussed LIV Golf and Rory admitted he’s been “too judgmental” of the league due to his own experience in golf and that it’s taken him two years to come to this realization.
There are some pretty choice quotes from Rory in this interview and it really does mark a major turning point for LIV Golf’s loudest critic on the PGA Tour. In the interview, Rory said “I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start, and I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position, or in Tiger Woods’ position.”
He continued saying “We all turn professional to make a living playing the sports that we do and I think that’s what I realised over the last two years. I can’t judge people for making that decision. So, if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgmental at the start.”
Rory McIlroy finished off that quote above by admitting that LIV Golf is here to stay. He said “I’ve gone through the last two years with this altruistic approach where I’ve looked at the world the way I’ve wanted to see it.”
Adding “Ultimately, 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. You’re never going to make them decide based on what you say. I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now.”
Later in the interview, Rory admitted that he’s never received an offer from LIV Golf. He said “I’ve never had an offer from LIV Golf personally. I didn’t engage with it when they came to me and I think at this point I’ve set my stall out. The numbers are unbelievable, and we’ve seen the stuff that’s happening in football and F1, so they’re getting into sport.”
It seems abundantly clear that Jon Rahm‘s departure for LIV has swayed Rory’s opinion. Rahm was one of the faces of the PGA Tour alongside Rory and a fellow Ryder Cup champion.
The Spaniard’s departure for LIV evidently caused Rory to look inward over the past two years and take stock of his criticism.