Rory McIlroy fires lethal shots at 2 LIV rebels in the latest Netflix series
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy has been one of the biggest critics of the controversial LIV Golf series. He has stood out as a firm supporter of the PGA Tour in its civil war against the Saudi-backed league.
McIlroy is playing the starring role in 'Full Swing', Netflix's latest eight-part documentary series. The new series will cover the most controversial year in the history of golf. The ground zero would be the establishment of LIV Golf in June and will further see the explosive impact over the year.
McIlroy discussed the players who defected to LIV Golf in the new series. He mocked Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson.
At the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed were involved in a scandal that is now being dubbed as teegate. It seems like the fire will be aired once again as McIlroy was seen laughing about Reed on the driving range at East Lake when a journalist that Reed had played on the Asian Tour.
McIlroy laughed:
"And dropped spots on the world rankings."
Later in the physio room, McIlroy was talking about American football and was informed that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was a PGA Tour fan. To which the golfer replied:
"Yeah, but he's a PM fan, so I don't know."
Another voice said:
"Sounds like the guy is losing credibility!"
McIlroy joined in the laughter and said.
"F*** you Phil! I hope that gets in!"
According to a report by Golf Digest, Rory McIlroy was initially reluctant to take part in 'Full Swing' but agreed to feature in the last episode after his position against LIV Golf saw him play a significant part early on in the series. The producers apparently convinced him by telling him that the Netflix show would be a platform for his views.
"He was all in," - Netflix producer on Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy may have been reluctant in the beginning, but once he was convinced that it was the right decision to feature in the Netflix show, he was all in. The Docseries' executive producer, Chad Mumm, recently revealed that McIlroy was highly invested in the show.
Fans were worried that he wasn't a part of the initial list of players, but he made a brief appearance later in the trailer. Mumm spoke to The Mirror about Rory McIlroy's involvement in the series:
"We had to have a few surprises! That materialized during the season. We met with his team several times in the lead-up to the show. They were very honest on his focus being on his golf this season, and potentially engaged with him in series two."
Mumm told Rory McIlroy that golf "needed his voice" and he was all in after that:
"I sat down with him in the summer. We told him we needed his voice, there was no guarantee we could do this again and if he waits, people won't hear from him until 2024 at the earliest and now is the time, the golf world needs his voice. To Rory’s credit he was like 'Yeah, I’m in.'"
In fact, McIlroy became the most involved player in the process after that.
"An hour later (after agreeing to be involved) he was wearing a microphone and walking around the locker room, having these private conversations that we were part of… He gave us more access in that period of time than we had got from anybody, it was incredible. He was always on our list, so give him a lot of credit for letting us in, because he certainly could have said no. From that moment on he was all in."
'Full Swing' will begin streaming on Netflix on February 15, 2023. And certainly now, after learning about Rory McIlroy's involvement in the series, fans must be much more excited about the show.