Rory McIlroy has been one of the PGA Tour’s most vocal defenders throughout the LIV Golf saga, often criticizing those who jumped ship to the rival league. But as time has passed, his stance has shifted, drastically. From saying “I hate what it’s doing to the game of golf, I hate it. I really do,”  in 2022, and then, “I still hate LIV. I hope it goes away,” in 2023, he has come a long way. In a candid moment, McIlroy admitted that LIV Golf has directly benefited him.

“I earn more money now than I did in 2019, and if LIV hadn’t come around, I don’t know if I’d be able to say that. We’re playing for a $20 million prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn’t come around.” McIlroy shared.

“I’ve been on the record saying this a lot: We’re playing for a $20 million prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn’t come around. I think everyone’s just got to get over it, and we all have to say, OK, this is the starting point, and we move forward. We don’t look behind us. We don’t look to the past. Whatever’s happened has happened and it’s been unfortunate, but reunification, how we all come back together and move forward, that’s the best thing for everyone,” he also said.

Clearly, all he wants now is for the merger to take place, the game to unify, and for the best golfers to play together. While a lot of the players are with him on this, and so is almost the entire golf, there are some people whom the Northern Irishman has managed to offend with his recent admission. Johnson Wagner, a former pro turned broadcaster, is on that list.

In his recent appearance on NBC Golf, he stated how he does not agree with McIlroy. He believed that McIlroy was only viewing it from his perspective, and not in the bigger picture. To put things into point, the PGA Tour has already faced a 20% drop in the viewership rates last season. And that’s not all. The Tour has lost two of its significant sponsors, Wells Fargo and Shriners. With such a downfall, having to increase the purse is taking a toll on the organizers.

Wagner said,  “So good for you. I’m glad you’re making more money than you were in 19 which was a ton of money and also he’s just telling everybody they got to get over it.” He even shared how despite being a fan of the PGA Tour pro, his statements have been infuriating him. Wagner added, “Rory has said some things over the last couple of seasons that have rubbed, a lot of players the wrong way, and now he wants everybody to get over it. He’s pushing for a small world tour. He’s trying to get his way in every way. I’m a big fan of Rory, but he’s angering me right now.”

Rory McIlroy’s change in his stern stance for LIV Golf has managed to garner a mixed reaction among the pros. While Wagner is simply frustrated with him being a pushover, there is someone extremely happy for being right all along!

6x major winner takes credit for Rory McIlroy’s observation 

From the start, Phil Mickelson made it clear that LIV Golf would change the game, particularly when it came to money. As one of the league’s earliest advocates, he called out the PGA Tour’s “obnoxious greed” and praised LIV for pushing the tour to increase purse sizes and make changes that benefit players.

Mickelson has been especially vocal about how LIV has created leverage for players, saying, “There was no leverage before… there were no other options.” When the PGA Tour announced $20 million purses for elevated events in 2023, Mickelson pointed out that none of this would have happened without the pressure LIV Golf brought to the table.

Back then it was Lefty who was mocked. But look how the tables have turned. The strongest PGA Tour loyalist is now swimming in the same direction. When Rory McIlroy’s admission of having earned more money because of LIV floated all across X, Phil Mickelson had a short yet self-sufficient reply to the post. All he did was comment thumbs up, summing up the entire context of it. Talk about being sassy!

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