‘Nobody wants that little b**** on their team’: LIV Golf exec takes brutal swipe at Rory McIlroy
‘Nobody wants that little bastard on their team’: LIV Golf exec takes brutal swipe at Rory McIlroy, as he claims ‘every big name’ on PGA Tour gets an offer to play in a new team format – apart from him
- It doesn’t look like Rory McIlroy will be invited to a LIV Golf team anytime soon
- Rebel tour rumors say their format will remain in the merged circuit
- DailyMail. com provides all the latest international sports news
An unnamed LIV Golf executive took a brutal swipe at Rory McIlroy as he discussed the future of the breakaway league amid its merger with the PGA Tour.
Following the news that LIV and the PGA would combine their commercial ventures, there has been a lot of speculation about LIV’s future – or what the intentions behind the Rebel circuit were in the first place.
According to golf writer Alan Shipnuck, there is a possibility that the LIV format will be retained, with a few events played in weeks when there is no traditional PGA event, while others are approved within the unified schedule.
It provides an opportunity for those PGA members who weren’t part of LIV to join the team format and participate…well, not everyone, as one LIV exec explains.
“Now we can finally catch Hideki [Matsuyama] and Jon Rahm. I’d say every big name on the PGA Tour gets an offer. Except Rory. Nobody wants that little bastard on their team,” the manager told Shipnuck.
An unnamed LIV Golf exec called Rory McIlroy a “little b****” when talking about golfers competing
It’s been a week-long victory lap for LIV Golf and its leader, Saudi PIF’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan
In the aftermath of the merger, McIlroy remained a steadfast hater of the Saudi-backed league, saying on Wednesday, “I hope it goes away, and I would fully expect it to.”
McIlroy went on to say, “All I’ve been trying to do is protect what the PGA Tour is and what the PGA Tour stands for.
“There may be a team element in the future, and you’ll see, maybe me, maybe whoever play in some kind of team golf. But I don’t think it’s going to look like LIV did, and that’s a good thing.”
The Irishman also said his efforts to protect the PGA – only to capitulate to the Saudis – made him feel like a “sacrificial lamb.”
As for the future of the 54-hole, shotgun-start, team-sized event, it may not go away as easily as McIlroy thinks.
According to Shipnuck, LIV’s global head of partnerships, Monica Fee, has had her phone “off the hook” since the announcement of the merger.
Companies like Marriott, Anheuser-Busch and ESPN have called in after the merger gave LIV the proverbial stamp of approval from the PGA Tour.
Even Fox is interested – despite the fact that Rupert Murdoch’s company turned down the offer to broadcast the events of the Rebel tour live when it was proposed before the start of this season.
LIV may not die out with this merger – as commercial interest from companies has poured in
Al-Rumayyan is now clearly the most powerful man in golf as three tours are about to merge
There is also the chance for the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to recoup its cash by selling the 12 LIV teams – each of which has a 75 percent stake. Internal valuations put these franchises at $500 million.
It’s all part of the plan of the most powerful man in golf – Yasir Al-Rummayyan, an ardent fan whose ambitions in the sport go beyond improving his handicap.
The terms of the merger may have yet to be worked out, but what is known is that Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, will be in charge of the combined group consisting of the PGA, the DP World Tour and LIV. – or what’s left of it.
LIV’s current season is still drawing to a close, and next week the two tours will clash again at the US Open in Los Angeles.