Rory McIlroy sees no reason why he would risk tarnishing his reputation and join a Saudi-backed league as rumours mount that the proposed Greg Norman led SGL is coming to fruition.
The four-time Major winner admits he’s sick of ongoing speculation around the Super League concept that has filled golf’s news pages with uncertainty of late.
Talk of a 12-event series with limited fields and no cuts have been gathering pace with McIlroy sceptical about how the competitive integrity of such a league would hold up given the vast sums of money on offer for players just to be there.
It remains to be seen who will jump ship but with the likes of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and now McIlroy pledging their allegiance to the PGA Tour, McIlroy’s assessment that the SGL looks more like a pre-Champions Tour – perhaps alluding to the lofty ages of the likes of 51-year old ring-leader Mickelson – seems to be ringing truer each day.
“Look, I’ve lived it – for the top guys, all that money really isn’t going to change their life,” McIlroy told Golf Digest US.
“I’m in a way better financial position than I was a decade ago and my life is no different. I still use the same three, four rooms in my house.
“I just don’t see the value in tarnishing a reputation for extra millions.”
Asked if he was tired of talking about the breakaway league, McIlroy said, “Oh, I’m sick of it,” before elaborating on what he sees as the massive risk young players would be taking should they opt out of golf’s established tours.
“Certainly for the younger guys, it just seems a massive risk. I can maybe make sense of it for the guys that are getting to the latter stages of their career, for sure,” he says.
“I don’t think that’s what a rival golf league is really — that’s not what they’re going to want, is it? They don’t want some sort of league that’s like a pre-Champions Tour.
“I understand the financial part of it for guys that are later on in their career.
“[But] you look at the people that have already said no, Rahm, No. 1 in the world, Collin Morikawa, myself. Like you’ve got the top players in the world are saying no, so that has to tell you something.”
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