Rory McIlroy responds to report of him and Tiger Woods brokering the PGA Tour and LIV deal
In a recent interview, Rory McIlroy denied reports of him and Tiger Woods finalizing the rumored PGA Tour and LIV Golf deal. However, he expressed hope for some good news soon.
It was recently reported that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf deal was set to be finalized, with LIV taking an 11% share in the Tour under the condition that its events would be held under the PGA Tour umbrella. Additionally, the report claimed that Woods and McIlroy played a substantial role in bringing the two groups to an agreement.
On Wednesday, November 6, during the pre-event press conference for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Rory McIlroy denied having any knowledge of the current status of the LIV Golf-PGA Tour deal.
"It's the first that I've heard of it," he said. "I know Jay was in Saudi Arabia last week at the FII and was having some meetings. But no, I think I would have heard if there was. I know he's briefing the transaction committee tonight. So maybe some news comes out of that. But as far as I'm aware, I haven't heard a thing."
For the uninitiated, McIlroy is part of the PGA Tour's subtransaction committee that is negotiating with the Saudi-backed circuit to finalize the deal. Tiger Woods and Adam Scott are the other player representatives on the committee, while John W. Henry (Strategic Sports Group), Joe Ogilvie (player liaison director), Joe Gorder (PGA Tour Enterprises Board of Directors chairman), and Jay Monahan (PGA Tour commissioner) are the remaining members.
"It would be nice to finally get over the line" - Rory McIlroy aims to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
Rory McIlroy has finished runner-up four times at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship but has never managed to get over the final hurdle. Speaking to reporters, he stated that he has played well in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai but has failed to secure a win in the former despite several opportunities.
"I've had plenty of chances," he said. "But when we played at Abu Dhabi National, seemed like Martin Kaymer was sort of the man over there and I felt like I finished second or third to him quite a lot.
Different golf course. I played here a couple of years ago and played okay. The conditions were a lot different in January than they are now. But yeah, it is, I'd love to get a win in Abu Dhabi. I've been so close so many times. It would be nice to finally get over the line," he added.
Rory McIlroy is paired with Rasmus Højgaard and Thriston Lawrence for the opening two days at Yas Links. The trio will tee off on Thursday, November 7 at 9:23 am local time from the first tee.