"I wish I hadn’t gotten involved" - Rory McIlroy regrets choosing sides in the PGA vs PIF war
Rory McIlroy has endured a winding journey alongside the PGA Tour - PIF merger. At first, he was staunchly against LIV Golf and everything (and everyone) involved with it. He was vehemently opposed to its existence.
However, when the merger came to fruition and became a reality, he softened his stance and is now by and large an advocate for the merger to go through. McIlroy even offered to rejoin the Policy Board to help speed things along.
According to NBC Sports, McIlroy regrets being so involved with everything. He was on the Policy Board, but he was also on the front lines of the culture war between the two sides for a very long time as well. He said (via NUCLR GOLF):
“In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t have gotten as deeply involved in it. I hold no grudge, I hold no resentment over the guys that chose to go and play on LIV. Everyone’s got their own decisions to make, and everyone has the right to make those decisions.”
McIlroy expressed his disappointment in the divide the sport is experiencing. He's not worried about the longevity of the sport or any threat to its existence, but he is upset at the chasm:
“My whole thing is... 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 in hindsight I wish I hadn’t gotten as deeply involved as I have.”
Now, the future seems to inevitably hold a union McIlroy once dreaded. He's accepted that reality and seems to welcome it, but there was a time when that may have been one of the worst possible outcomes in his eyes.
Rory McIlroy paid tribute to Grayson Murray
Rory McIlroy and Grayson Murray had butted heads over the PGA Tour x PIF merger in the past, but McIlroy insisted at his pre-tournament press conference at the RBC Canadian Open that none of it mattered.
After speaking on the PIF merger, McIlroy turned his thoughts to Murray, who tragically passed away last weekend. He said (via Bunkered):
“I think it slaps you in the face when something like that happens last week. 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."
“I think if there’s a lesson for anyone out there it’s just to be kinder to each other," he added.
McIlroy will next tee off at the RBC Canadian Open set to begin on May 30.