It was June 2023. The merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was announced. Interestingly, there was a requirement for the same. Rory McIlroy should take part in the breakaway league. His response? The Northern Irishman would rather walk away from the sport than play LIV Golf. However, little did he know he would be having a complete U-turn just nine months later.
The 34-year-old was spotted sharing a piece of his mind in a press conference ahead of the upcoming PGA Tour event, the Cognizant Classic. Meanwhile, as he did so, McIlroy went ahead to enigmatically respond to the comments made by his former agent Chubby Chandler about him joining the disruptive tour with nothing short of a smile on his face!
Rory McIlroy responds to LIV Golf rumors
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“I think he’s writing a book,” said the professional when asked about whether there was any reason for his former agent to make comments about him joining LIV Golf. Adding on, he recounted how he spoke to Chandler a while back, “I might have saw him in the Middle East actually at the start of the year,” while alluding to one of the two events he played there in January, the Dubai Invitational and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Continuing with his response, the 4-time major champ cryptically yet amusingly answered how “he might know a few things.” Meanwhile, doubling down on his reply, the interviewer went ahead to quote his ex-agent’s comments on the same while pointing out how he mentioned there’s a good chance for the golfer to join the Saudi-backed circuit following which he marked it as “10%.” As for his reply, the 24-time PGA Tour champ stated, “Somewhere in the middle maybe, who knows,” all the while indulging in a mysterious smile of sorts.
This is the video of Rory’s answer to LIV rumours. It’s clearly light hearted, but even so, it’s amazing how far he’s come from saying he “hates LIV” and “if LIV Golf was the last place to golf on Earth, I would retire.”
New year, new Rory.pic.twitter.com/rye4AWmgz2 https://t.co/tKKyyZgshW
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) February 28, 2024
It seems the new year has truly brought with it a new McIlroy! The athlete had, at the start of the year, in a podcast admitted his mistake of judging the PIF-funded league and the people who joined it harshly. Moreover, he had also dubbed it as being a part of golf now, all the while commenting on the unhealthy competition between PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Nevertheless, from saying he “hates” the league to enigmatically responding about joining it, he’s surely come a long way.
But what else did Chandler talk about that tempted the interviewer to pose the question to the Northern Irishman? It’s natural for the community to become curious about what his former agent said as he pointed out how McIlroy might join the Saudi-backed league.
Chubby Chandler’s comments on McIlroy
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“You might say he’s going to sign for about £750million in a month’s time with LIV,” said his ex-agent cynically before continuing, “because he’s paving the way that LIV’s okay now, whereas it wasn’t.” Adding on, he highlighted the possibility of the situation while referring to Rory McIlroy’s recent actions before pointing out, “If [Jon] Rahm can do it, most guys can do it.”
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The former representative also divulged how “there’s a 10% possibility he’s favoring his way to sign for LIV [Golf].” Moreover, continuing with his comments, Chandler mentioned how the golfer realized the redundant nature of the fight between the two parties in golf which, instead, made him take the U-turn.
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Well, many wouldn’t be able to possibly deny the effect such a reversal of opinions would have on the golf community. Besides, being the second-best player in the world rankings just adds to the whole situation. What would this entail? Only time will tell!
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