Rory McIlroy: LIV Golf “making up own rules”

Rory McIlroy accused LIV Golf of “making up” its own rules amid the ongoing row over whether the upstart tour should be granted world ranking points.

Last week 50 players contracted to the Saudi-backed circuit penned a letter to OWGR chief Peter Dawson urging him to grant the league’s application, while its CEO Greg Norman claimed the body would become “obsolete” if it failed to do so.

However, speaking at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, McIlroy revealed he had “no problem” with the rebels receiving points.

“I certainly would want the best players in the world ranked accordingly,” he said.

“If Dustin Johnson is somehow 100th in the world it’s not an accurate reflection of where he is in the game.

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“But at the same time, you can’t make up your own rules. There’s criteria there, everyone knows what they are and if they want to pivot to meet the criteria they can.

“I’ve not problem with them getting ranking points at all but you have to meet the criteria. If you don’t it’s harder to justify why you should have them.”

Calls have grown louder for the warring factions to get round the table to thrash out a compromise, most recently from Dunhill backer Johann Rupert.

A spokesman for the South African’s firm Richemont told the Telegraph: “There needs to be a cessation of hostilities which are threatening the future of the game we all love. People need to talk to each other to find a solution.”

McIlroy himself is in favour of peace talks – but admitted timing is key.

“I’ve always said there’s a time and place where everyone involved needs to sit down and work together,” he added.

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“It’s very hard to do that right now with court cases going on.

“There’s a natural timeline to let things settle down a little bit. People can go into those meetings with a cooler head.

“I don’t want a fractured game. The game of golf is ripping itself apart and that’s no good for anyone. It’s not good for the guys on the traditional system or the guys on the other side either.

“Right now, with where everything is, it’s probably not the right time but we probably can’t leave it too much longer. I’m all for getting round the table and sorting things out.”