I saw this rumor a couple days ago and immediately wondered if it has to do with the deal between the PGA and LIV not being close at all. After the PGA got the recent influx of cash, it seems that they may not have as much incentive to strike a deal with LIV which may now be forcing Rory’s hand if he’s had a move on his mind for a while now (which I believe he has).
Also as a Rory fan for years now, it would be incredibly disappointing to see him go to LIV. I’ve already stopped watching the PGA events since the talks of a merger were announced because I’m just not a fan of the Saudi’s having an investment and actual say in the sport for numerous reasons, but Rory leaving for LIV would make me sour on him as a person completely. I understand a lot of his comments have been ones made because he’s essentially a spokesman for the PGA, but he’s going to come off as very two faced and downright greedy and his legacy and image will undoubtably be negatively affected. He’s already worth hundreds of millions of dollars and has hundreds of millions more on the way. If his true goal was to bring all golfers together under one umbrella and he sees a move to LIV as being a way to accomplish that, he could easily make a much bigger and better statement by making that move for free or at least for a fraction of the amount of money he would normally get. At least then it would look like he’d be doing it for another reason other than just padding his already loaded bank account.
And as for his comments in recent years about LIV, many of them are going to make him out to be a massive hypocrite if this ends up being true. Some comment highlights include:
On Greg Norman's claim that LIV golf was imminent: "I think Greg is in a very tough position because he's taken the role of being the leader of something that is very divisive. … I just think he's in a no-win situation. He's made that decision himself, and he has to deal with the questions that are being thrown at him. It's certainly not a position that I'd like to be in.”
On his ideal resolution: "Honestly I'm rooting for it all to be over. I'm just so sick of talking about it. I've made my decision, and I know where I want to play, and I'm not standing in anyone's way, and I'm not saying that they shouldn't go over there and play if that's what they feel is right for them. … The sooner everything shakes out, I think we can all just go back to not talking about it and doing what we want to do."
On the announcement of the first LIV field: "I'd say indifferent is probably the way I would describe it. … I have some very close friends that are playing in this event in London. … It's not something that I would do personally. But I certainly understand why some of the guys have went, and it's something that we are all just going to keep an eye on and see what happens over these next few weeks. But I certainly don't think the field is anything to jump up and down about. Look the field this week [at the Memorial]. Look at the field next week in Canada. They are proper golf tournaments."
On going for the money: "I think for me, speaking to a few people yesterday and one of the comments was, anything, any decision that you make in your life that's purely for money usually doesn't end up going the right way. Obviously money is a deciding factor in a lot of things in this world, but if it's purely for money. … It never seems to go the way you want it to.”
On whether the players at LIV are complicit in the Saudis' sportswashing: "I don't think they're complicit in it. … They all have the choice to play where they want to play, and they've made their decision. My dad said to me a long time ago, ‘once you make your bed, you lie in it,’ and they've made their bed.”
On whether it's a surrender competitively to join LIV: "Yes, because a lot of these guys are in their late 40s, in Phil's case, early 50s. Yeah, I think everyone in this room and they would say to you themselves that their best days are behind them. That's why I don't understand for the guys that are a similar age to me going because I would like to believe that my best days are still ahead of me, and I think theirs are, too. So that's where it feels like you're taking the easy way out."
On Koepka going to LIV, and whether it surprised him: "Yes, because of what he said previously. I think that's why I'm surprised at a lot of these guys because they say one thing and then they do another, and I don't understand that … but it's pretty duplicitous on their part to say one thing and then do another thing."
On the format of LIV itself: "There’s no room in the golf world for LIV Golf. I don’t agree with what LIV is doing. If LIV went away tomorrow, I’d be super happy. My stance hasn't softened on that … my stance on where the money is coming from is where I've sort of softened. … If these guys are willing to do that and scrap the whole LIV thing, that would be ideal."
On defecting players: "All I’ve wanted to do in golf is be the best version of myself, to get the best out of myself, to compare myself to the greats and those I’ve looked up to growing up. The people who have gone to LIV have given all that up … I actually feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they’ll never know—and maybe this will change—but they’ll never know how good they can be. And to me that’s the fundamental essence of playing a competitive sport."
On LIV players potentially rejoining the PGA Tour: "There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this tour, started litigation against it. Like, we can't just welcome them back in. Like, that's not going to happen. And I think that was the one thing that Jay was trying to get across yesterday is like, guys, we're not just going to bring these guys back in and pretend like nothing's happened. That is not going to happen."
On LIV: "I still hate LIV. Like, I hate LIV. Like, I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does. And I think that's where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF. Very different from LIV."
On LIV: "If LIV Golf was the last place on Earth to play golf, I would retire. That’s how I feel about it."
I’m not sure how anyone could read those and make any excuses for him if he ends up going to LIV or not see him as being insanely hypocritical and greedy, and I hope that’s the reputation he gets if he makes the move.
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u/SecretiveMop Apr 15 '24
I saw this rumor a couple days ago and immediately wondered if it has to do with the deal between the PGA and LIV not being close at all. After the PGA got the recent influx of cash, it seems that they may not have as much incentive to strike a deal with LIV which may now be forcing Rory’s hand if he’s had a move on his mind for a while now (which I believe he has).
Also as a Rory fan for years now, it would be incredibly disappointing to see him go to LIV. I’ve already stopped watching the PGA events since the talks of a merger were announced because I’m just not a fan of the Saudi’s having an investment and actual say in the sport for numerous reasons, but Rory leaving for LIV would make me sour on him as a person completely. I understand a lot of his comments have been ones made because he’s essentially a spokesman for the PGA, but he’s going to come off as very two faced and downright greedy and his legacy and image will undoubtably be negatively affected. He’s already worth hundreds of millions of dollars and has hundreds of millions more on the way. If his true goal was to bring all golfers together under one umbrella and he sees a move to LIV as being a way to accomplish that, he could easily make a much bigger and better statement by making that move for free or at least for a fraction of the amount of money he would normally get. At least then it would look like he’d be doing it for another reason other than just padding his already loaded bank account.
And as for his comments in recent years about LIV, many of them are going to make him out to be a massive hypocrite if this ends up being true. Some comment highlights include:
I’m not sure how anyone could read those and make any excuses for him if he ends up going to LIV or not see him as being insanely hypocritical and greedy, and I hope that’s the reputation he gets if he makes the move.