‘I still hate LIV’: Rory McIlroy feels like ‘sacrificial lamb’ after shock golf merger

Rory McIlroy says he feels like a “sacrificial lamb” after golf’s bombshell between the PGA Tour and LIV, and he “still hates LIV”

TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 07: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland speaks to the media after playing in the Pro-Am of the RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club on June 07, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy was one of the staunchest defenders of the PGA Tour throughout their civil war with LIV Golf — and after the merger news, he admitted he wasn’t thrilled with how the saga ended.

Speaking at the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto for the first time since the merger was announced, McIlroy took questions from reporters in the wake of the bombshell news that the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and DP World Tour would all come together in one umbrella.

The NY Post reports the Northern Irishman, 34, said he was “surprised” by the deal when it was announced.

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“It is hard for me not to feel like a sacrificial lamb,” McIlroy said on Wednesday.

“I put myself out there.”

McIlroy has been the PGA Tour’s de facto spokesperson over the past year as LIV poached some of the top golfers in the world — including Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith — offering massive sums of guaranteed cash as funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Rory McIlroy feels like a sacrificial lamb. Photo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images/AFP.

McIlroy remained on the PGA Tour despite a rumoured nine-figure offer to join LIV and became a vocal opponent of the rival tour, at different points saying LIV “legitimises” Saudi Arabia’s place in the world and calling players who took the money and ran “duplicitous.”

Now, after refusing the money and becoming a mouthpiece for the PGA and integrity in golf, McIlroy had to watch with the rest of the world as the Tour he so fervently defended eschewed all that integrity they talked so much about, taking a massive investment from the Saudis in the merger.

“I learned about it at pretty much the same time that everyone else did,” McIlroy said.

“And yeah, it was a surprise. I knew there had been discussions going on in the background, I knew that lines of communication had been opened up. I obviously didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it did.”

Under the terms of the merger, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, will act as chairman for the new golf entity that results from the three leagues coming together.

The look on Rory McIlroy’s face said it all. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Jay Monahan, currently the commissioner of the PGA Tour, will act as CEO.

There have been calls for Monahan to step down following the complete heel turn from attacking LIV and its backers at every turn to accepting their money without warning.

When asked if he still has confidence in Monahan as the commissioner, McIlroy said, “I do.”

“I’ve dealt with Jay a lot closer than a lot of those guys have and from where we were a couple of weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks brighter as a whole,” McIlroy said.

“What that looks like for individual players in keeping a Tour card, bringing players back into the fold, that’s where the anger comes from. I understand that and there still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour, started litigation against it.

You’ve got to feel for Rory. Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images/AFP.

“We can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen. That’s what Jay was trying to get across yesterday.”

It has been reported that players who defected from the PGA Tour will face fines if they want to get their Tour cards back, though one imagines they wouldn’t be anywhere near the same amount as what those players received in cash to join LIV.

As a whole, McIlroy was positive about the future of the game.

“Removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf, there’s no denying it,” he said. “For me as an individual, there’s just going to have to be conversations that are had.”

That said, it was quite clear the World No. 3’s feelings around LIV and the PIF are complicated, and emotions are still raw.

“I still hate LIV,” McIlroy said. “Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away, and I fully expect that it does.”

This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.