Rory McIlroy says “the world decided for me” in accepting that the Saudi Public Investment Fund would be taking a stake in professional golf, and now he’s spoken of how the merge with the PGA Tour plays out to avoid LIV Golf becoming “bigger than it should.”
After being wheeled out by the PGA Tour as their biggest defender against the threat of LIV, McIlroy was perhaps thrown under the bus more than anyone else when Jay Monahan cut a deal with PIF boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
Saudi wealth is entering almost every corner of sport, but McIlroy’s concern with golf is, unlike with simply buying a Premier League team like Newcastle, the PIF is now buying up a piece of the actual sport itself.
With PIF investment now looking inevitable, the four-time Major winner is keen for them to work with golf’s existing framework and not take over the sport completely.
“The way I’ve looked at it is if the PIF are really interested in golf and they want to get in the system, at least if we provide them with a pathway to play within the system where they are not taking over the sport,” McIlroy told Off The Ball’s Golf Weekly podcast.
“It neutralises any threat of LIV becoming something that it hopefully shouldn’t become. And they play within the boundaries that are set within our sport, and we all go from there.
“The only thing I would say about the PIF investments in other sports is that they went in and played with the ecosystems of those other sports.
“They didn’t try to buy F1, they didn’t try to buy the Premier League. Yes, they bought a Premier League football club in Newcastle and it’s worked out really well for them.”
“They’ve played within the ecosystems of those other sports.””They didn’t try to buy the Premier League or F1.”Rory McIlroy spoke to @GolfWeeklyOTB’s @nathanmurf & @MolloyJoe about his feelings on LIV Golf and the PIF.Become a #FriendOfThePod ➡️ https://t.co/M0UD7TkSR4 pic.twitter.com/MuBIKe696ISeptember 6, 2023
McIlroy, who says he’s met with PIF boss Al-Rumayyan, also explained that after being opposed to playing in LIV partly because of where the money came from, he’s now accepted it as a way of the world.
“You see everything…
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