Rory McIlroy would perhaps play in LIV Golf rather than retire. Not his exact words, but when asked about his chances of joining the PIF-funded side, McIlroy smiled and was all cryptic with his response. That question, of course, came after his former agent, Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, said there might be a ten percent chance of that happening. 

A ten percent chance is not large enough on paper. But McIlroy was the loudest critic of LIV for quite a while. Yes, the world has already heard McIlroy’s change of tune. But no one is quite prepared to see him at LIV Golf yet. So, is it what we believe it is? Are we nearing the final act of another shocking move? 

Or is Rory McIlroy just toying with us?

Firstly, McIlroy did a full Brooks Koepka at the Cognizant Classic press conference. Asked about Chandler’s comments linking him with LIV for $95oM, the Northern Irish golfer smiled and said, “I spoke to Chubby — I might have saw him in the Middle East actually, at the start of the year. So you never know — he might know a few things. Who knows?” Pressed further on the matter, the four-time Major winner went more vague. “Somewhere in the middle, maybe. Who knows?” McIlroy answered with a slight smirk before wrapping up the matter.

Interestingly, his former agent has also spoken about McIlroy’s former stance on the matter. Chandler believes the Tour perhaps coerced McIlroy into becoming their de facto mouthpiece. “He must have dreaded going into press conferences to go through the diatribe he did. I firmly believe he was trying to do the right thing for the PGA Tour, but why did he manage to put himself on the pedestal he did and to allow that to happen? It was all engineered by the PGA Tour that Rory would stand up for them,” Chandler said via Instantcasinos.com.

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While McIlroy hasn’t spoken on this particular matter, he earlier let go of his frustration in no uncertain terms. His comments have hinted at some lingering differences of opinion with his peers on the board. Interestingly, the 24-time PGA Tour winner also spoke candidly about Gooch’s Grand Slam verdict. 

McIlroy refused to pile on the Oklahoma native. Taking a diplomatic stance, the 34-year-old was willing to offer him the “benefit of the doubt.” Although he did bring up Joaquin Niemann’s Masters invite to blunt Gooch’s sharp criticism, McIlroy showed restraint around Gooch, not otherwise shown on many LIV Golf Pros earlier.

Who will suffer more from a shock move—the Tour or McIlroy?

McIlroy seemingly has nothing to lose—in tangible terms—if he joins LIV Golf. He is exempt from the Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and Open Championship. Considering his form, the Ulsterman would remain at the top of his game for at least a few more years. OWGR can technically save him from missing out on any majors for some time. 

But does he want it? It seems the only thing that can push him to the other side is if the Tour continues to ignore a plea for a more global vision. But as much as that is needed, it’s also hard to fit into the current landscape. The previous experiment, the World Golf Championship, which McIlroy said was never truly global, failed because of this. Perhaps no one understands that better than Rory McIlroy. 

On the other hand, Jon Rahm’s departure was telling enough. The Tour management doesn’t receive strong support from its players yet. It would be a rather bleak world where McIlroy prefers to ply his trade on the LIV Golf rather than the Tour. What happens to TGL, his brainchild, along with Tiger Woods, remains an open question as it is now. All things considered, will it be a wise move?

So, will Rory McIlroy follow in Rahm’s footsteps?

There may be more than a ten percent chance of McIlroy joining the Greg Norman-fronted league. LIV seems to have many things, including two of his Ryder Cup teammates, a friendly competitor, and former DP World Tour stalwarts that the Tour is missing. Furthermore, LIV travels the world more often than the PGA Tour at this moment.

There are still reasons to believe that Rory McIlroy would rather have the LIV Golfers back on the Tour than him bolting for the PIF-funded side. He has had conversations with Yasir Al-Rumayyan in the past. In fact, McIlroy was the one who asked the Tour to open a communication channel.

So, perhaps the door was open for the World No. 2 all the time. McIlroy chose to stay back. With only a few months to go before a breakthrough between the PGA Tour and PIF is reached, it would be a questionable choice if the Ulsterman joins LIV. Let’s not forget that SSG’s involvement will also benefit McIlroy. What explains his stance, then? 

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Let’s go back to Chandler’s comments again. “He realizes that the whole bickering and fighting is no good for golf. The man in the street must find it appalling the sums of money being spoken.” It is hard to say which one was the last straw for McIlroy. Regardless, two years of fighting and banging his head against the wall were enough for the four-time Major winner. As for LIV Golf, that appears on the distant horizon as of now.

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