After rumors swirled around Rory McIlroy and LIV Golf the last couple of weeks, the Northern Irishman put that notion to bed.
A video interview with ESPN surfaced on Thursday, and he explained why LIV Golf will never be his destination.
“It’s not for me,” McIlroy said plainly. “I am too much of a traditionalist… I love winning golf tournaments and looking at the trophy and seeing Sam Sneed won this trophy, or Ben Hogan, or Gene Sarazen, or Jack Nicklaus, or Gary Player, or Tiger Woods, or Nick Faldo, or whoever it is. The people that came before me. That, to me, is a big deal in our game.”
His response comes a week after he let speculations grow.
Chubby Chandler, his former agent, recently suggested McIlroy was building in the excuse of joining LIV with his recent changes of opinion on the rival circuit.
Ahead of the Cognizant Classic, McIlroy was asked about Chandler’s assertions and he gave a cryptic answer about that whole ordeal.
“Never know. He [Chandler] might know a few things. Who knows,” McIlroy said. “Somewhere in the middle, maybe. Who knows?”
However, a few days later, the No. 2 player in the world made his loyalty to the PGA Tour very public.
He has always insisted that he would never leave for LIV Golf. However, since McIlroy left the PGA Tour Policy Board, his tune has adjusted. He no longer turns up his nose toward the LIV players—seeming to understand why they left.
His public opinion change only added fuel to the rumors.
Will this latest loyalty pledge be enough to exterminate the rumors for good? Jon Rahm stated his allegiance to the PGA Tour at one time. Then, the reigning Masters winner would take a massive payday from LIV Golf in December.
For McIlroy, though, being part of golf’s history alongside the game’s greats seems to hold enough weight to keep him from leaving.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
