Golfing superstar Rory McIlroy offered an olive branch to LIV Golf to kick off the new year by saying that “I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start”, The comments have been met positively by LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman who replied by saying: “To me, this is a hugely significant turning point for everybody.”
After a lengthy period of barb and counter barb, 2024 is threatening to be the year golf goes some way to healing itself with Greg Norman describing Rory McIlroy’s shifting stance on LIV Golf as a “turning point”.
McIlroy had been one of the most vocal critics of the Saudi Arabia-funded breakaway organisation, saying last summer that “if LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on earth I would retire. That’s how I feel about it.”
LIV and the PGA Tour subsequently announced talks were taking place on a pathway for them to co-exist, while LIV pulled off a coup last month when signing Masters champion Jon Rahm.
McIlroy told Stick to Football podcast that “I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start.
“It was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods’ position.
“I can’t judge people for making that decision, so if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgmental at the start. I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now. We’re professional golfers and we play to make a living and make money, so I understand it.”
McIlroy added that he would like to see LIV evolve into golf’s equivalent of cricket’s Indian Premier League, with it allocated time in the calendar for team golf before all the players return to regular tournaments.
The Northern Irishman’s comments have been digested by LIV Golf chief executive Norman, who described them as a “turning point”.
“The reason I say I appreciate Rory falling on his sword, to some degree, is the fact that he did judge us by not knowing the facts,” Norman said on LIV’s Fairway to Heaven Podcast. “He judged us on other people’s thoughts and opinions.
“So, I say, ‘hey, thank you Rory’. We all knew it was going to work within the golf ecosystem. We all wanted to be there, we are going to be there – he said that. To me, this is a hugely significant turning point for everybody.”
Talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which funds LIV, are set to continue in 2024.
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