"Golf is at an inflection point" - Rory McIlroy fears golf will have the current ‘fractured landscape forever’
Though Rory McIlroy has softened his stance against LIV Golf, the Irishman isn't super confident in the overall state of the sport. He, perhaps more than most, is acutely aware of the schism in the sport as a whole. McIlroy's been a large part of one side of it for a while, and he's not sure the division is ever going to go away.
He believes action is needed right now. If none is taken, the sport could be fractured and never recover according to the World No. 2 golfer.
McIlroy said via the Irish Independent:
“There's so much opportunity out there to go global with it, and I've said this for the last few months, but golf is at an inflexion point, and if golf doesn't do it now, I fear that it will never do it and we'll sort of have this fractured landscape forever. As I said, I hope it all works out."
There's been a massive rivalry between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour since the inception of the breakaway tour. Even with the merger, things are tense and cloudy.
While golfers like McIlroy have admitted that they were too harsh on LIV for a long time, things aren't as unified and harmonious as they could be. If things aren't done correctly right now, then the sport may never fully heal.
Rory McIlroy believes in the future of global golf
Golf has not undergone as many changes in its history as it has and will right now. Things are changing rapidly, and the sport has the chance to look very different a few years from now.
Rory McIlroy recently said that the sport needs to think more globally and believes that there are many areas of growth for golf. McIlroy was quoted as saying by the Irish Independent:
“Just trying to elevate the rest of the tournaments around the world...You've got a lot of different opportunities there. If everyone's talking about growing the game, I think everyone needs to start thinking more globally about it, but globally in a holistic way, not this tour or that tour or another tour."
Growing the game was a major point in LIV's formation. They wanted to grow the game globally, and McIlroy seems to be admitting that the sport shouldn't be tour vs. tour and that it should be growth all around. He continued:
"What is the best structure for elite men’s pro golf, the top 70-100 guys in the world. What would that look like, especially if the game is going to look different going forward? I just think it's worth having that conversation... If we can start to work together all around the world, you know a rising tide lifts all ships."
This was a big turnaround for McIlroy, who drew notice for his comments from Ian Poulter. Jon Rahm's departure for LIV got everyone thinking and talking, and it's been a reckoning point for the sport. LIV is here to stay, and many, McIlroy included, believe that the sport has to unify and continue to grow if things are going to get better.