Rory McIlroy admits that in hindsight he wishes he did not get so tangled up in the civil war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf which has caused a chasm in the men’s professional game.
McIlroy acted as the unofficial spokesperson for the PGA Tour in the face of LIV Golf where he was actively against the Saudi backed tour and what it was doing to the men’s side of professional golf.
Although he has softened his stance over the last six months, including stepping down from the PGA Tour Policy Board, he has still expressed his hatred for LIV and how it has disrupted the landscape on the main tours, including voicing his opinion at the RBC Canadian Open last year in Ontario where he returns this week looking for a third win in four attempts.
The longer the merger negotiations between the PGA Tour and PIF continue to stall the more men’s professional golf will become like tennis. Only four tournaments a year will matter and after the Masters and PGA Championship have been and gone, fans must wait just over two weeks more for the best players to be playing together again.
“I wish I hadn’t have gotten involved or not hadn’t have gotten involved, hadn’t have gotten as deeply involved in it, and I’ve articulated that. I’ve said that I certainly, I hold no grudge, I hold no resentment over the guys that chose to go and play on LIV,” explained McIlroy who had an attempt to rejoin the PGA Tour Policy Board shunned by some players.
Seen in deep discussion with PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan for over ten minutes on a green during the Wednesday morning pro-am McIlroy added: “Everyone’s got their own decisions to make and everyone is, has the right to make those decisions. My whole thing is I’m just disappointed to what it’s done to, not to the game of golf, the game of golf will be fine, but men’s professional golf and this sort of divide we have at the minute.
“Hopefully, we’re on a path to sorting that out and getting that to come back together, but, yeah, I mean, in hindsight, hindsight’s always 20/20, but in hindsight I wish I hadn’t have gotten as deeply involved as I have.”
The four-time major winner was unable to add to his tally at the PGA Championship in Valhalla a fortnight ago as his return to the site of his last major triumph went unfulfilled.
His quest for an elusive fifth major crown was overshadowed by news that he had filed for divorce from wife Erica Stoll on the Monday of the championship.
A week off to attend a friend’s wedding in Italy and some family time has helped McIlroy recharge ahead of a busy summer schedule.
“I certainly switched off. I went to one of my best friend’s weddings in Italy for four days, which was a lot of fun, good to see a lot of people from home I haven’t seen in a long time. Yeah, it was actually a really good trip, I needed it. Then I had a lovely, I had a great weekend at home. Spent time with my family and with Poppy and, yeah, it was awesome.
“So I needed that reset. I’m playing four weeks in a row here, so, yeah, I’m ready to go, but, yeah, it’s been a busy stretch and I’m sort of easing my way back into it.
“I probably hit a grand total of probably 150 balls last week. So, not that I feel rusty, I feel like I’ve played enough golf to keep myself ticking over, but, yeah, last week was a good week to just reset and sort of start again.”
News of Grayson Murray’s tragic death at the age of 30 cast a cloud over the weekend’s action at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
The two-time PGA Tour winner took his own life after withdrawing from the tournament last Friday and McIlroy says it was a painful reminder that golf is not the be all and end all.
“It’s incredibly sad, first and foremost, and I think we’re all thinking of Grayson’s family and hoping that they’re doing okay and getting through this incredibly tough period. Yeah, I think, you know, it’s cliche, but it puts everything in perspective. It puts everything — you know, at the end of the day, you know, golf is golf and, yeah, we play it for a living, but it pales in comparison to the things that actually matter in life.
“That’s a, I’ve had to realize that at times and I’m still sort of working my way through that in terms of not making golf the be-all end-all for me. I think it slaps you in the face when something like that happens last week. As I said, it’s incredibly sad and everyone has to remember out here that we go out and we do things that a lot of people can’t, but at the end of the day we’re still human beings, and we’re vulnerable and we’re fragile, and I think if there’s a lesson for anyone out there it’s just to be kinder to each other.”
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