Rory McIlroy Had Little Notice About the Stunning PGA Tour-LIV Golf Partnership
Like just about everyone else in golf, Rory McIlroy was unaware that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was negotiating with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia to become partners along with the DP World Tour.
The "framework" of a deal was announced on Tuesday morning and Monahan along with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, appeared on CNBC as part of the shocking unveiling.
McIlroy, who is a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board, only heard about it a few hours earlier.
Jimmy Dunne, a member of the Policy Board who put the deal in motion when he first met with Al-Rumayyan two months ago, had texted McIlroy on Monday night and said he’d call Tuesday morning.
"Jimmy rang me at about 6:30 (Tuesday) morning," McIlroy said Tuesday at his news conference in advance of the RBC Canadian Open. "We had a chat. Took me through the news. Took me through the deal, structure of the deal. What it meant for us. What it meant for the DP World Tour.
"So, yeah, I learned about it pretty much at the same time everyone else did. And, yeah, it was a surprise. I knew there had been discussions going on in the background. I knew that lines of communication had been opened up. I obviously didn't expect it to happen as quickly as it did. But I really think that, you know, from what I gather, the Tour felt they were in a real position of strength coming off of the back of the DP World Tour winning their legal case in London. It sort of weakened the other side's position.
"And they went in there, and the way Jimmy described it, 'Rory, sometimes you got 280 over water, you just got to go for it.’ And that's what they did. I think ultimately, when I try to remove myself from the situation and I look at the bigger picture and I look at 10 years down the line, I think ultimately this is going to be good for the game of professional golf. I think it unifies it and it secures its financial future."