By James Corrigan
St Andrews: Rory McIlroy believes “the game of golf is ripping itself apart” and has warned the warring factions that they should not wait too long until they “sit around a table to figure something out”.
As one of the most vocal opponents of the LIV Golf Series, McIlroy’s call at the “home of golf” is significant. The Northern Irishman has previously hinted that the PGA and DP World Tours should negotiate with the Saudi-funded circuit, but has not gone this far before.
“I don’t want a fractured game. I never have,” he said. “You look at some other sports and what’s happened and the game of golf is ripping itself apart right now and that’s no good for anyone. It’s no good for the guys on, you know, this side or the sort of traditional system and it’s no good for the guys on the other side, either.
“There is a time and a place for it. I just think right now, with where everything is, it’s probably not the right time. But saying that, I don’t think we can let it go too much longer. So I’m all for everyone sitting around the table and trying to figure something out, for sure.”
McIlroy’s plea comes a few weeks after Phil Mickelson, one of LIV’s highest-paid rebels, made a similar statement. On Tuesday, Alfred Dunhill, the sponsor of this week’s Links Championship that has invested more than $100 million over a near-40-year association with the DP World Tour, told this masthead that there should be “a cessation of hostilities which are threatening the future of the game we all love” and that “people need to talk to each other to find a solution”.
However, prospects of peace talks appear further away than at any time since the Saudi sovereign wealth fund signified its intent to set up a circuit last year, with a $2 billion war chest. Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, has consistently refused to entertain entering negotiations, while recently Greg Norman, the LIV chief executive, has declared he no longer had “any interest” in a meeting.
Rory McIlroy is back at the home of golf this week for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.Credit:Getty
Meanwhile, Keith Pelley, the chief executive of the DP World Tour, is adamant he would only deal with LIV if it was prepared to act as a sponsor “within the sport’s ecosystem” and not exist separately.
As McIlroy acknowledges, the looming court cases do not make this likely either. There is a hearing into the Europe circuit’s sanctions against LIV players in February, with one in the United States set to begin late next year.
“It’s very hard for that to happen right now when there’s two lawsuits going on,” McIlroy said. “I think, as well, there’s a natural timeline here to let temperatures just sort of settle down a little bit and people can maybe go into those mediations with cooler heads and not be so emotional about it all.”
There is also a storm brewing over LIV applying for world ranking status. Norman has demanded that Monahan and Pelley, who are on the panel of the world rankings board, recuse themselves from the vote over whether to recognise LIV, and its golfers last week wrote an open letter to Peter Dawson, the rankings board’s chairman, urging a “positive” and “quick” resolution.
World No.2 Cameron Smith and former No.1 Dustin Johnson can expect to see their rankings plummet after signing with LIV Golf.Credit:AP
However, the process takes at least a year, meaning that without access to the ranking points on the PGA Tour – from which they are all banned – their rankings will tumble.
“I would want the best players in the world ranked accordingly,” McIlroy said.
“I think if Dustin Johnson is somewhere around 100th then it’s not an accurate reflection of where he is in the game.
“But you can’t make up your own rules. If they want to pivot to meet the criteria, they can. I certainly have no problem with them getting world ranking points. But if you don’t meet the criteria, it’s hard to justify why you should have them.”
Telegraph, London
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