By Joshua Lees
There have not been many more critical of the LIV Golf circuit than Rory McIlroy since the breakaway league burst onto the scene as a rival to the PGA Tour in the summer of 2022.
The Northern Irishman was one of the first to shut down the idea of a potential Saudi-funded golf league, having labelled the initial plans led by Greg Norman as 'dead in the water'. Four months later McIlroy's claims were proved wrong, and whilst it is still has plenty of imperfections, the LIV setup has only grown stronger.
Following a year of civil war within the sport, it appeared that the PGA Tour and LIV were finally set to end their dispute after the announcement of a shock framework agreement was made by both sides last June.
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A deal is yet to be signed off, but with negotiations ongoing it is expected that a peace treaty will eventually be put together to reunite professional golf. Having initially been spokesperson No. 1 against the Saudi-backed series, McIlroy has dialled back his stance in the aftermath of the agreement.
Speaking earlier this year the four-time major winner admitted he may well have been 'too judgemental' on the LIV circuit and those who opted to join. McIlroy has also re-opened the PGA Tour door forPhil Mickelson and co, who he believes should be able to make a return without consequence, an opinion opposed by many of his Tour colleagues.
But does this mean the 33-year-old is ready to make the biggest u-turn of all and sign on the dotted line with the Saudi-backed setup? For me, no. Even after a report fromCity A.M. on Sunday alleged that a shock £682 million deal for McIlroy to join LIV was 'close', it is hard to comprehend seeing any switch taking place - in the near future anyway.
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Speaking at the Scottish Open last July, the European star admitted that he would rather retire from professional golf that compete on the LIV circuit, and whilst a lot has happened in the nine months since, it is clear to see McIlroy's loyalties still lie with the PGA Tour. Reiterating this stance just last month, he told ESPN: “[LIV Golf] is not for me.
"I’m too much of a traditionalist. I’m too much of a — I’m steeped in the — I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing that Sam Snead won this trophy or Ben Hogan or Gene Sarazen or Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or Tiger Woods or Nick Faldo, whoever it is, the people that came before me. Like that to me is a big deal in our game."
One man who did shake the golfing world by defecting to Saudi-backed series was Jon Rahm, who became LIV's biggest coup when signing for a reported £450 million last December. And whilst the Spaniard appears to have enjoyed his start to life as captain of Legion XIII, a frustration or two appears to have crept in recently, it's hard not to compare with McIlroy's 'traditionalist' stance, given Rahm's comments.
It is no secret that LIV is a new and fresh idea in the world of golf, and they are proud of that. One thing they do lack compared to their PGA Tour rivals though is two features at the epicentre of the sport - history and tradition.
Rahm has openly admitted that he missed not being able to play in a number of PGA Tour events close to his heart, giving up the chance to defend three titles in three month's at this year's Sentry, American Express and Genesis Invitational. He doubled down on that in his pre-Masters press conference, and it was hard not to see that tinge of regret throughout his play and his interviews.
The the former Masters champion also appears keen to return to 72-hole golf, having played 54-hole competitions since making his mega-money move. "If there ever was a way where LIV could go to 72 holes, I think it would help all of this argument a lot," he said at Augusta last week.
"The closer I think we can get LIV Golf to some other things the better. I think it would be for some kind of unification to feed into a world tour or something like that. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I definitely wouldn't mind going back to 72 holes."
Rahm's decision to make the move was the biggest win yet in LIV's poaching process, but there is no doubt the acquisition of McIlroy would take that award. However it feels there is a long way to go before we see the Northern Irishman and Norman locked in a handshake, wearing a LIV baseball jacket.
