Rory McIlroy’s manager rubbishes “fake news” LIV reports

Is Rory McIlroy on the brink of a lucrative move to LIV Golf as has been reported?

Nope.

And that’s coming from his manager.

First reported by the Irish Independent, Sean O’Flaherty has dismissed claims made by the London-based City AM that the four-time major champion could be about to jump to the Saudi-funded golf league in a deal worth $850million plus an equity state in the enterprise.

That figure is almost double the price of the deal that convinced Jon Rahm to join LIV in December and, if it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is.

“Fake news,” said O’Flaherty. “Zero truth.”

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So, there you have it.

None of this should come as a surprise, of course. In addition to being one of the fiercest critics of LIV – despite the recent softening of his stance – McIlroy stated his position on the prospect of joining Greg Norman & Co as recently as last month.

“It’s not for me,” he told ESPN. “I’m too much of a traditionalist.

“I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing that Sam Snead won this trophy or Ben Hogan or Gene Sarazen or Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or Tiger Woods or Nick Faldo, whoever it is, the people that came before me.

“That to me is a big deal in our game.”

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He went even further last summer, saying: “If LIV Golf was the last place on Earth to play golf, I would retire. That’s how I feel about it.”

Still, the wheels of the speculation train continue to turn.

Earlier this year, McIlroy’s former agent Chubby Chandler told bunkered.co.uk that he believes the former world No.1 could be tempted to join the LIV exodus.

“If you were being cynical, you might say he’s going to sign for about £750million in a month’s time with LIV because he’s paving the way that LIV’s okay now, whereas it wasn’t,” Chandler said.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor