Rory McIlroy has shot down any probability of a transfer to LIV Golf in any case however confirming that his current feedback on a mega-move have been tongue in cheek.
The world quantity two was requested finally week’s Cognizant Basic about feedback by his former agent, Chubby Chandler, who prompt that his softening angle on PGA Tour sanctions for LIV Golf rebels was an indication that he is perhaps keen to make the soar.
McIlroy instructed ESPN. “I like successful golf tournaments and searching on the trophy and seeing Sam Snead received this trophy, or Ben Hogan, or Gene Sarazen, or Jack Nicklaus, or Gary Participant, or Tiger Woods, or Nick Faldo, or whoever it’s.
“The people who got here earlier than me. That, to me, is a giant deal in our sport.”
Chandler estimated there was a 10pc probability that McIlroy might make the soar, however whereas McIlroy’s feedback indicated to some that there is perhaps an opportunity, he was clearly being ironic.
“You by no means know; he would possibly know a number of issues,” McIlroy replied when requested about Chandler’s speculative feedback throughout his pre-tournament press convention in Palm Seaside Gardens final week.
As for his former agent’s suggestion there was a 10pc probability he’d soar ship, McIlroy added: “Perhaps someplace within the center. Who is aware of.”
The four-time main winner would like to see the sport’s greatest gamers reunited and never simply on the 4 majors.
He instructed ESPN: “If we have been to all put our heads collectively and be like, ‘What can all of us do to come back again collectively and transfer ahead and be a little bit extra cohesive’, then I might kind of be for that’.”
He is at loggerheads with PGA Tour colleagues equivalent to Jordan Spieth or Rickie Fowler, who really feel that gamers who took the cash to signal for LIV Golf shouldn’t be in a position to return to the PGA Tour with out some kind of punishment.
“I believe life is about selections,” mentioned McIlroy forward of the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am final month. “Guys made selections to go and play LIV, guys made selections to remain right here.
“If individuals nonetheless have eligibility on this tour they usually wish to come again and play otherwise you wish to try to do one thing, allow them to come again.
“I believe it is exhausting to punish individuals. I do not assume there ought to be a punishment.”
He’d prefer to see the sport evolve and create a {golfing} equal of the Champions League or IPL cricket, the place the sport’s greatest compete world wide.
How that might be finished given the sluggish progress of the PGA Tour’s merger talks with the PIF, the backer of LIV Golf, and the current $1.5 billion money injection from non-public fairness group SSG stays to be seen.
There’s already debate in regards to the strengths and weaknesses of the PGA Tour’s signature occasion sequence.
Simply 69 gamers teed it up within the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill this week.
It is one in every of simply three signature occasions, together with Tiger Woods’s Genesis Invitational and Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Event, to characteristic a reduce to the highest 50 and ties and any participant inside ten photographs of the lead.
However even with 59 of the 69-man area surviving the three-over reduce at Bay Hill final night time, McIlroy favours much more streamlined fields.
Whereas he mentioned final night time he was “detached” to cuts at these occasions, he desires extra elite fields.
“Yeah, I used to be detached,” he mentioned of the reduce idea. “I believe, when all these signature occasions have been considered, we have been considering no reduce, but when it is essential sufficient, or if it is that essential to Tiger and Jack and if Arnold have been alive if it was essential sufficient for him, then it is their event, on the finish of the day, they usually can do no matter they need,” he mentioned.
“I might have went both manner, but when it is essential sufficient to these guys, then we’ll have a reduce.”
Requested if he’d prefer to have seen greater fields for the signature occasions, he mentioned: “No, I imply, I am all for making it extra cutthroat, extra aggressive.
“In all probability will not be extremely popular for saying this, however I am all for much less gamers and fewer Tour playing cards, and the perfect of the perfect.”
McIlroy shot a two-under 70 on Friday to enter right now’s third spherical tied for thirtieth on one-under.
He is six photographs adrift of a sextet of leaders in world primary Scottie Scheffler (67), Genesis Invitational winner Hideki Matsuyama (70), Shane Lowry (71), Open champion Brian Harman (68), Russell Henley (69) and US Open champion Wyndham Clark (66).
They lead by one stroke from Will Zalatoris, with West Waterford’s Seamus Energy tied for forty sixth on two-over after a second-round 74.
