For more than a year, Rory McIlroy railed against LIV Golf. On Wednesday, he declared his acceptance of a deal that made the PGA Tour and its Saudi-funded rival partners in the future of the sport.
“Whether you like it or not, [Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is] going to keep spending money in golf,” he said at a news conference ahead of the Canadian Open. “At least the PGA Tour controls where that money is spent.”“I look 10 years down the line, I think ultimately this is going to be good for the game of professional golf,” he said. “I think it unifies it and secures its financial future.
“If you’re thinking about one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner?” he asked. Of accepting the partnership with the Saudi government, which has been widely accused of attempting to invest in professional sports to distract from the country’s human rights abuses, he added: “I’ve come to terms with it. I see what’s happened in other sports and businesses and honestly I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that this is what’s going to happen. It’s very hard to keep up with people who have more money than anyone else.
“What it’s done to the world of men’s professional golf is ripped it apart, which is unfortunate,” the four-time major winnerof LIV in August after winning last year’s Tour Championship. “I think there are ways to mend that and bring it back together. But with everything else that’s going on right now, I don’t see that happening any time in the future.”
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