Rory McIlroy feels like ‘sacrificial lamb’ as he shares thoughts on PGA Tour deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund

NORTH YORK, Ontario — Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy wasn’t looking forward to his press conference ahead of this week’s 2023 RBC Canadian Open, and for good reason.

On Tuesday the PGA Tour announced it was forming a new golf entity alongside the DP World Tour and with the help of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which had been funding LIV Golf, a rival upstart circuit that has been a thorn in the Tour’s side for more than a year now.

“It’s hard for me to not sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb and feeling like I’ve put myself out there and this is what happens,” said McIlroy, who has been front and center supporting the Tour amid its battle for professional golf supremacy with LIV. “Again, removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf. There’s no denying that. But for me as an individual, yeah, I, there’s just going to have to be conversations that are had.”

McIlroy got a text on Monday from Jimmy Dunne, the vice chairman and senior managing principal of Piper Sandler, which led to a Tuesday morning call at 6:30 a.m. ET before the news broke.

“I knew there had been discussions going on in the background. I knew that lines of communication had been opened up. I obviously didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it did,” explained McIlroy. “The way Jimmy described it, ‘Rory, sometimes you got 280 over water, you just got to go for it.’ And that’s what they did.”

When McIlroy removes himself from the situation, he sees the benefits to the new entity and inclusion of the PIF and noted how the pro game will now be unified and secured with regard to its financial future. Not to mention the removal of litigation between the Tour and LIV Golf, which has been costing both sides tens of millions of dollars.

McIlroy described Tuesday’s players meeting to discuss the news as “heated” and that people were surprised, in shock.

“Look, most of the gripes come from the guys that are, you know, trying to hold onto their cards. And they feel like things have already been taken away from them this year with the designated events and smaller fields and no cuts and weighted FedExCup points for the larger events with the stronger fields. So they were already feeling somewhat vulnerable,” said McIlroy. “Then, whenever this news is brought about, there’s only going to be one reaction to that. And I understand that. And, honestly, it’s hard for me to relate to those guys, because I’ve never been in that position. I try to empathize with it, but it’s hard for me to relate to them fully, but I certainly empathize with their point of view.”

The 23-time winner on Tour went out of his way to point out the deal isn’t a merger with LIV Golf – “LIV’s got nothing to do with this” – but rather the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF partnering to create a new company.

“I think that’s where I was a little frustrated. Because all I’ve wanted to do and all I’ve wanted in the past year, from basically this tournament, is to protect the future of the PGA Tour and protect the aspirational nature of what the PGA Tour stands for. And I hope that this does that,” said McIlroy.

“And one thing as well is, whether you like it or not, the PIF were going to keep spending the money in golf. At least the PGA Tour now controls how that money is spent. So, you know, if you’re thinking about one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy? At the end of the day, money talks and you would rather have them as a partner.”

“I still hate LIV. Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does,” McIlroy proclaimed. “And I think that’s where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF. Very different from LIV.”

Despite the dealings in the dark and his personal emotions, as a player, McIlroy said he still has confidence in PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who will be the CEO of the yet-to-be-named entity, but certain details need to be finalized, such as how players who left for LIV will return.

“From where we were a couple of weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks brighter as a whole, as an entity,” he explained. “There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour, irreparably harmed this Tour, started litigation against it. Like, we can’t just welcome them back in. Like, that’s not going to happen. And I think that was the one thing that Jay was trying to get across yesterday is like, ‘Guys, we’re not just going to bring these guys back in and pretend like nothing’s happened.’ That is not going to happen.”

Throughout the press conference you could tell McIlroy would have rather been anywhere else but at the podium, and while he spoke with honesty and passion for the majority of the time, he let his guard down towards the end of the session when asked if there were still parts of him that felt uncomfortable with just how cozy Saudi Arabia and their money is now in golf

“I’ve come to terms with it. I see what’s happened in other sports. I see what’s happened in other businesses. And, honestly, I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that this is what’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s very hard to keep up with people that have more money than anyone else. And, again, if they want to put that money into the game of golf, then why don’t we partner with them and make sure that it’s done in the right way. And that’s sort of where my head’s at.”

While McIlroy may be resigned to the fact the new entity is coming and players can either get in line or get lost, a few levers can still be pulled to derail the deal. The United States Department of Justice was already investigating the Tour for monopolistic actions, and Tuesday’s news will raise some red regulatory flags. Not to mention the Tour’s board will need to pass the deal, as well.

To use Dunne’s analogy, the Tour had 280 yards to carry water and went for it. For now, we wait and see whether it cleared or splashed.