LIV Golf: McIlroy says PGA Tour wins diminished by absence of Rahm, Hatton and others, eyes their return
- Speaking before Pebble Beach Pro-Am, McIlroy says he would rather stand on the 18th green having beaten the best
- LIV Golf League season begins in Mexico this week, with Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton part of new Legion XIII team
The third season of the LIV Golf League starts in Mexico on Friday with a new team, a higher profile, and a further thawing of relations between it and one of the Saudi-backed circuit’s fiercest critics.
Jon Rahm’s arrival as the captain of Legion XIII has given the tour another major winner, and his recruitment of Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton two more players ranked among the top 20 in the world.
Recognising the impact their departure from the PGA Tour is likely to have, Rory McIlroy acknowledged that some wins in America would be diminished as a result.
Speaking before this week’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Northern Irishman said he would like to “stand up with a trophy on 18 green and know that I’ve beaten all of the best players in the world”.
The absence of the likes of major winners Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and now also Rahm, who have been banned by the PGA, makes that impossible.
With the likes of Talor Gooch, Adrian Meronk, Hatton and the rest also opting to join LIV, tournaments in North America can no longer boast to having the game’s best.
One of LIV’s staunchest opponents in the beginning, McIlroy has acknowledged changing his mind, and with an agreement between the PGA and the Public Investment Fund as close as ever, the major winner would like to see players able to return to the tour.
“Life is about choices. Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here. If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play, let them come back,” McIlroy said.
“It’s hard to punish people. I don’t think there should be a punishment -- obviously I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties.”
Talks on a framework merger agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV’s Saudi backers, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), have extended beyond a December 31 deadline in order to sort out a deal to please all sides in golf’s bitter civil war.
“It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game,” McIlroy said. “The faster we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible I think is great for golf.
“We’re potentially about to do a deal with PIF, who owned the large majority of LIV, and hopefully seeing things come back together here at some point.”
LIV’s third season starts this week at Mayakoba, with Rahm’s team bringing the number up to 13.
Also joining the Spaniard are Kieran Vincent and Caleb Surratt, who played college golf at Tennessee and competed in the Walker Cup last year at St Andrews.
Vincent, the brother of LIV Golf player Scott Vincent, won the International Series Vietnam on the Asian Tour last year and earned a spot in the league at the qualifying tournament.
“We’ve come a long way in a short period of time and are extremely proud of the team and brand we are building,” Rahm said. “As we were developing the team’s brand it became clear that I wanted to fight alongside a group of guys who aligned perfectly with what the team stands for.”
He described world No 16 Hatton as a “fierce competitor, proven champion” and his Ryder Cup teammate.
“I’m really excited for this next chapter, to link up with Jon Rahm and Legion XIII, and to get started this week in Mexico,” Hatton said.
LIV will play 14 tournaments this year, with stops in Las Vegas next week and Riyadh from March 1 to 3, before the league reaches Hong Kong for the first time a week later.
