Rory McIlroy ‘was told to “F*** OFF” by Grayson Murray during Tuesday’s stormy “merger” meeting’
Rory McIlroy ‘is told by fellow PGA Tour golfer to ‘F*** OFF’ at explosive rally’ hours after bomb merger with Saudi-backed LIV was announced
- Rory McIlroy was told to fuck off in a heated meeting by a fellow PGA Tour golfer
- PGA Chief Jay Monahan held a meeting after the merger with LIV was announced
- McIlroy and fellow golfer Grayson Murray clashed during the heated debate
Rory McIlroy was told by a fellow PGA Tour golfer to “fuck off” at an explosive rally in the wake of the bomb threat that they were merging with their Saudi-backed LIV rivals.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan rallied his stars on Tuesday night — ahead of this week’s Canadian Open in Toronto — in an effort to justify the shocking declaration of peace in the Gulf Civil War.
McIlroy and Tiger Woods had established themselves as the PGA Tour’s biggest supporters in their battle with LIV Golf, but were both kept in the dark about the stunning deal announced earlier on Tuesday.
Monahan faced calls to resign at a 75-minute player rally that he described as “intense and certainly heated,” citing his previous comments that anyone taking LIV money would never play on the PGA Tour again and greeted with applause, according to former player Johnson Wagner.
Golf Channel reported that Wagner had access to an audio feed of the meeting and that McIlroy told world No. 227 Grayson Murray to “just play better” as Murray criticized Monahan.
Rory McIlroy (pictured) was reportedly told to ‘f*** off’ by a fellow PGA Tour golfer on Tuesday
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour announced they would merge with LIV and end golf’s civil war
Murray responded by telling McIlroy to ‘f*** off’, though another player, Wesley Bryan, later confirmed the exchange on social media before adding, ‘They were cordial and pleasant after meeting.
“We talked as a group of players and we laughed at the comment. No beef or hard feelings anyway.’
Fellow players reacted with surprise and a sense of betrayal to the news that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour were merging their commercial operations with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which finances LIV Golf.
The announcement came after 12 months of unprecedented disruption to the professional men’s game following the launch of LIV, which held its first event from 9-11 June 2022 in Hertfordshire.
Monahan accepted that he would be labeled a “hypocrite,” but insisted that the players who remained loyal to the PGA Tour made the right decision.
“They’ve helped reshape the future of the PGA Tour, they’ve moved us into a more competitive model,” said Monahan.
PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan held a meeting on Tuesday to justify the decision to his golfers
McIlroy reportedly told Murray (above) to ‘just play better’ when the golfer criticized Monahan
‘We have invested heavily in our company in 2023, we will do that in ’24. (But) we had to invest back into our business through our reserves. Between our reservations, the legal costs, our substantiation and our commitment to the DP World Tour and their legal costs, it has been significant.
“But this puts us in a position where we have capital that we can deploy for the benefit of our members and through our tournaments, and it gives us capital to deploy in growth companies that will ultimately generate a return that we will reinvest in our players.” .’
Asked if the likes of Woods and McIlroy would be compensated for turning down lucrative offers from LIV, or if those who made huge payouts to join the escape would have to pay that money back, Monahan said, “I think that’s all the serious conversations we’re about to have.
‘Ultimately everything has to be thought about. In the end, you’re talking about an equalization over time, and I think that’s a fair and reasonable concept.’