Rory McIlroy reveals why he won’t join LIV Golf

Rory McIlroy has ruled out a move to LIV Golf, claiming the breakaway league is “not for me.”

The Northern Irishman’s evolving stance on LIV’s position in the game had led to rumours that he could make a once unthinkable U-turn and move to the Saudi-backed circuit.

Those rumours were stoked when his former agent Chubby Chandler told bunkered.co.uk that “there’s a 10% possibility he is favouring his way to sign for LIV.”

But ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy has put an end to talk he could jump ship from the PGA Tour.

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“It’s not for me,” he told ESPN. “I’m too much of a traditionalist. I’m steeped in the… I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing Sam Snead won this trophy, or Ben Hogan or Gene Sarazen or Jack Nicklaus 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.

“If we were to all put our heads together and be like ‘okay, what can we do to all come back together and move forward and be a little bit more cohesive’, then I’d be for that.”

McIlroy was once LIV’s most vocal opponent but has altered his tune in recent months in the hope the warring factions can unite and create a global tour with all the game’s best players.

But he laughed off Chandler’s suggestion that he might sign for LIV in a press conference last week, and has now reiterated the importance he places on the history in the game as he keeps battling for titles on the PGA Tour.

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When asked about the meaning of his legacy after his first win of the season at the Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy was unequivocal.

“Everything,” he replied. “I think it’s the only way to be able to compare yourself to the people you grew up idolising. My hero was Tiger Woods. I wanted to do what Tiger did. I’ll probably not have the career that he’s had but I still look at the trophies that I’ve won and my name is on those same trophies that his are on.

“I don’t know a better way of quantifying success in the game as putting your name on the trophies that the people before you have put their names on.”

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.