Rory McIlroy ended the first round of the WGC – Mexico Championship with a two-shot lead and then revealed he has been receiving ‘nice messages’ since his public stance on any proposal to establish a breakaway golf tour.
McIlroy, earlier this week, became the first high-profile player to take a hard stance against a proposed new tour, declaring ‘it’s not for me’ and the early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive for the world number one ever since.
“I received some nice messages,” he said following his first round at Club de Golf Chapultepec.
“I wasn’t hoping for anything. I was just sort of providing my point of view and getting it off my chest, and that’s what I felt. I wasn’t trying to do anything or prove a point or try to get any sort of praise.
“I’ve sort of been sick of talking about it for the last few months, and I’m happy that everyone knows where I stand on that, and I’m happy that I know where I stand, certainly, on it.”
On Wednesday, when asked about the Premier Golf League, the four-time Major winner said he didn’t “like it” and that he was “out” of the proposed league which is attempting to woo the game’s top players away from the PGA Tour and European Tour.
Specifically, McIlroy said he didn’t like the idea of giving up the autonomy of being an independent contractor and that he valued his legacy over any potential financial gain.
McIlroy said he received numerous messages regarding his comments and when asked if one of those messages was from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, he cracked a smile and answered; “Maybe.”
The leader gets his second round underway on Friday at 19.03pm Irish time.
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