CRAP REALLY ABOUT
McIlroy has message of hope as bitter LIV feud rumbles on BUT ST ANDREWS CAN MAKE US ALL REMEMBER WHAT THIS GREAT GAME IS
RORY McILROY reckons visiting St Andrews puts a soothing hold on the “crap” of golf ripping itself apart.
Two months on from his crushing Open loss at the Old Course, regrets could fill the 33-year-old’s mind returning to the scene of the heartbreak.
Instead, emotions are the opposite for McIlroy. He thinks back 15 years ago to earning his European Tour card here.
He thinks about playing competitively with his dad Gerry. He thinks of what makes the game so special while surrounded by its history.
It helps to, even for a short while, take his mind off the sport’s almost daily in-fighting.
In the latest twist of the never-ending saga around LIV Golf, their players have sent a letter to the Official World Golf Rankings asking to have their tournaments recognised.
CEO Greg Norman claims OWGR will be “obsolete” if LIV stars aren’t included and McIlroy knows this bitter situation has to be sorted – and soon – before divisions get even wider.
McIlroy is in Fife for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and even this week’s sponsors want an end to the hostilities.
Norman lashed McIlroy this week for “hypocrisy” and the world No.2 said: “Golf is ripping itself apart right now. That’s no good for anyone.
“I don’t want a fractured game, I never have. I certainly would want the best players in the world ranked accordingly.
“Dustin Johnson is somewhere around 100th in the world. It’s not accurate.
“But, at the same time, you can’t make up your own rules. “I certainly have no problem with them getting world ranking points, at all. But you just have to meet the criteria. “Golf is so much bigger than all of us and people miss that. It’s bigger than all this crap we’ve talked about all year. St
Andrews, tradition, where the game was created and where it was built.
“Sometimes our vision of what that game should be is a little bit different but golf is a wonderful game.
“Grandparents can play with grandkids. Different generations can all be interested in something together.
“That’s one of the most special things that has been lost in all this rhetoric the past few weeks.
“I’ve always said there’s a time and a place where everyone that’s involved here should sit down and try to work together.
“It’s very hard for that to happen right now when there’s two lawsuits going on.
“There’s a natural timeline here to let temperatures settle down a little bit and people can maybe go into those mediations with cooler heads and not be so emotional about it all.
“I just think right now, with where everything is, it’s probably not the right time. But I don’t think we can let it go too much longer, so I’m all for everyone sitting around the table.”
This week, though, is about fun. The Dunhill connects competitive edge with celebs as well as family, with US Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick part of a team including his mum.
McIlroy will play with his dad as usual and it brings back memories of where it began.
He said: “When I look back over the 15 years, it’s an amazing life, it’s an amazing career, it provides you with amazing things obviously.
“I pinch myself sometimes. I get to live out my childhood dreams and not everybody can say that. It’s an unbelievable position to be in.
“It’s so nice to be able to sort of share it with my dad and with my family.
“It’s a pure form of the game, playing with your father. A reminder of where I started.
“My dad loves to chat. Sometimes he’ll not realise I’m over my shot. I have to say, ‘Dad, just tone it down a little bit!’.
“A win would be the cherry on top but we’re both going to have a good time. That is all that matters.”
The win was, of course, what eluded McIlroy back in July when Cameron Smith pipped him to the Claret Jug.
However, he said when he left St Andrews that Sunday he’d take the positives from the disappointments – and winning the FedEx Cup proved that wasn’t just hollow talk.
He added: “Time and again, I’ve managed to bounce back from adversity.
“It’s probably one of the things I’m the most proud of. I’ve become more resilient.
“Once The Open was done, I just reset my goals. I’ll always have a deep appreciation for St Andrews and what it means.
“That’s more important than me trying to win an Open here.
“This course and what it means will stand the test of time. When I move on and leave the game, younger generations will try to do the same things I’ve been trying to do for the last 20 years. No regrets.”
I don’t want a fractured game... I want best players in the world ranked accordingly RORY McILROY ON THE LATEST LIV ROW