Saudi tour will shape golf’s future, admits Rory
RORY McILROY admits he may have spoken too soon when declaring the Saudi-backed breakaway was ‘dead in the water’ as he lamented the absence of defending champion Phil Mickelson at the US PGA Championship. Mickelson has not played since February’s Saudi International, shortly after which his explosive
comments about the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed events were made public. Three days after Mickelson’s remarks came out, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau joined the likes of McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa in pledging their loyalty to the
PGA Tour, prompting Co Down native McIlroy to think the threat of the breakaway was over. ‘Yeah, I might have been a little presumptuous at that point,’ McIlroy said yesterday ahead of the year’s second major at Southern Hills in Tulsa. ‘It seems like it’s still going. Everyone behind it is very
determined. I think we’re just going to have to see how it plays out. Guys are going to make decisions. ‘Honestly it’s going to shape the future of professional golf one way or another, so I think we’re just going to have to see how it all shakes out.’
NOW there is a three-ball the Saudis will never be able to buy. The 104th US PGA Championship begins tomorrow morning with Tiger Woods joined on the tee by Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.
The man who has done it all alongside the two players under 40 who are one missing piece away from a career Grand Slam and joining him in the sport’s most exclusive club. Eat your heart out, Greg Norman. Whether the draw is a good one, mind, for McIlroy and Spieth is a moot point. Rory’s problems in majors in recent years have been caused by poor first rounds and it will be interesting to see whether he can deliver a good one amidst the maddening hordes who will only have eyes for Tiger.
Equally, this is the leg of the Slam that Spieth is missing and he could probably have done with a low-profile opener rather than one that brings added pressure.
For the rest of us, of course, it is a draw to savour. Woods and McIlroy were paired together in this event in 2020 but that was during the pandemic when there were no crowds. Before that, they walked the fairthat. ways in the first two rounds in 2018, when Woods went on to finish runner-up to Brooks Koepka following an exciting weekend duel that set the scene for his Masters miracle the following April. McIlroy was 50th.
Woods was on good form during his press conference, even taking aim at old rival Phil Mickelson, who will not be defending the title that he won in historic circumstances last year. ‘It’s always disappointing when a defending champion isn’t present,’ he said. ‘But I’m committed to the PGA Tour and its legacy and Phil pushed back against that with views I strongly disagree with.
‘Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the tour and committed to the legacy of the tour have pushed back against, and he’s taken some personal time, and we all understand I think that some of his views on how the tour could be run, should be run, (there has) been a lot of disagreement there.
‘As a professional, we miss him being out here. He’s a big draw for the game of golf. He’s just taking his time and we all wish him the best when he comes back.
‘Obviously we’re going to have difference of opinions, how he sees the tour and we’ll go from there.’
Woods has pledged his loyalty to the PGA Tour, but Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia are among those to have requested releases to play the first LIV Golf event next month, releases which were turned down by the Tour.
‘What we are seeing right now in society, it’s very bipolar,’ Woods added. ‘There’s really no middle ground, you stand one way or the other. It’s very polarising.
‘And the viewpoints that Phil has made with the tour and what the tour has meant to all of us has been polarising as well.
‘I don’t know if he has to resolve it or not. He has his opinion on where he sees the game of golf going. I have my viewpoint how I see the game of golf.
‘I understand different viewpoints, but I believe in legacies. I believe in major championships. I believe in big events, comparisons to historical figures of the past. There’s plenty of money out here.
‘The tour is growing. But it’s just like any other sport. You have to go out there and earn it. It’s just not guaranteed (money) up front.’
Speaking before the draw was known, McIlroy could hardly have appeared more relaxed ahead of his 14th PGA, and the scene of his last major victory in 2014.
Dressed as usual from head to toe in Nike attire, the difference this time was that it was all gym gear rather than golfing clothes, with a workout his next port of call before nine holes after lunch.
His face positively lit up when asked for his first impressions of the Southern Hills course.
‘I really like it,’ he began. ‘I don’t know what it was like before all the changes but I love what Gil (Hanse, the architect) has done with it. I love that you’ve got so many options from the tee and you’re going to see some players hitting driver and others taking irons.
‘I love the green complexes as well, and the fact you have to chip from the run-off areas rather than being able to putt the ball. I think it’s going to be a wonderful test.’
Turning to the dreaded Saudi topic, McIlroy (below) looked sheepish when asked about his belief in February that the rebel tour was ‘dead in the water,’ saying: ‘I might have been a little presumptuous about that. Greg Norman and the people behind it are clearly very determined. One way or another, it is going to shape professional golf and we’re just going to have to see how it shakes out.’
Not that McIlroy is holding his breath. ‘I’m sick and tired talking and hearing about it,’ he said.
‘I’ve made my decision, I know where I want to play and I’m certainly not standing in anyone else’s way as to where they should play. I just wish it was sorted so we can get back to what we want
to do.’