‘He’s angering me!’ – PGA Tour winner tears into Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy has been warned that he has “rubbed a lot of players the wrong way” with his evolving stance on the divided men’s professional game. 

Speaking ahead of the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, McIlroy stressed that his PGA Tour rivals need to “get over it” if they are concerned about reuniting with LIV Golf players on a unified circuit.

“How we all come back together and move forward, that’s the best thing for everyone,” he told reporters. “If people are butt hurt or have their feelings hurt because guys went or whatever, like who cares? Let’s move forward together and let’s just try to get this thing going again and do what’s best for the game.”

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McIlroy added that the world’s best players have ‘all benefitted’ from Saudi Arabia’s LIV investment into the game, with prize funds soaring on the American circuit to keep up with the breakaway league.

The three-time PGA Tour winner Johnson Wagner, now a popular analyst, wasn’t impressed with McIlroy’s comments, which he believes were narrow-minded.

“The fact that he’s talking about ‘we’ve all benefitted’ – he’s just seeing things from such a finite perspective,” Wagner said on the Golf Channel.

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“He’s not seeing who hasn’t benefitted from all this going on, the sponsors that pay all the bills for the PGA Tour events because TV is down, everything is down, but they’re being asked to pay more money. So, good for you. I’m glad you’re making more money than you were in ‘19 – which was a ton of money.”

“He’s just telling everyone they’ve ‘got to get over it’. He’s said some things over the past couple of seasons that have rubbed a lot of players the wrong way.

“And now he wants everybody to get over it. He’s pushing for a small world tour. He’s trying to get his way. I’m a huge fan of Rory, but he is angering me right now. Angering me.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.