McIlroy driven by LIV rivals as he tees up at next Ryder Cup venue

Rory McIlroy has admitted that the “grim” prospect of an LIV Golf player winning the BMW PGA Championship gave him extra motivation.

Patrick Reed’s final round of 63 set the early clubhouse target of 14 under par at Wentworth and was not surpassed for almost two hours, when Jon Rahm eagled the 18th to end 16 under.

Another late eagle from Talor Gooch meant he was the highest placed LIV player in fourth, a shot in front of Reed, as Shane Lowry won the title by one from McIlroy and Rahm.

“The leaderboard at about 2pm on Sunday was looking pretty grim if you were in a position that I hold,” said McIlroy, who previously said the presence of 18 players from the Saudi-funded breakaway was “hard to stomach”.

“That probably gave me some extra motivation and a few other guys on the leaderboard to get past that 14 under mark.”

McIlroy has emerged as one of the most vocal supporters of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour as they try to combat the threat of LIV Golf – a situation he sometimes wishes to avoid.

“It’s a weird time in golf and hopefully over the next couple years we can resolve it in some sort of way,” McIlroy said ahead of the Italian Open at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, venue for next year’s Ryder Cup.

“But right now I’m a golfer. I maybe put myself in a conversation too much at times. But I can’t help myself because I feel strongly about it.

“But it’s up to the powers that be to try to come to some sort of, not resolution, but a strategy going forward so that the game can thrive at the highest level.”

McIlroy will bid to maintain his 100% record in Italy this week, having won the European Amateur Championship in 2006 on his only previous competitive appearance there.

And he will also gain some valuable experience of the Ryder Cup course ahead of next year’s contest against the US.

Asked if Europe captain Luke Donald had influenced his decision to play, McIlroy said: “I had already committed to playing in this event.

“I wanted to play at least one tournament here before the Ryder Cup so this was a good opportunity. But I’ve had discussions with Luke and a few of us are meeting for dinner for a little bit of team bonding but also to have a talk about the course and how we think it should set up.”

McIlroy reiterated he does not feel LIV players should be on the Ryder Cup team, but Matt Fitzpatrick disagreed.

“I just want to win the Ryder Cup,” said the US Open champion, who was on the losing side in both 2016 and 2021.

“I want the 11 best guys we can get. I’m not really too bothered about where they come from.”

McIlroy is an outspoken critic of the breakaway tour.