Rory McIlroy sparks fresh controversy with LIV Golf 'rebels' after Ryder Cup dig
Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood appeared to trade insults after the Northern Irishman took a swipe at LIV Golf's Henrik Stenson.
It could be argued Rory McIlroy's week couldn't have been worse.
Only a few weeks ago the Northern Irishman suggested he was pretty confident Jon Rahm was a PGA Tour player, despite the Spaniard pulling out of his and Tiger Woods' indoor golf league.
Then, after watching the reigning Masters champion sign for the breakaway LIV Golf League in a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars, he had to face a backlash after making a seismic U-turn.
That U-turn? Over the involvement of European LIV players in the Ryder Cup.
Only a few months ago in Rome, the four-times major champion was heavily criticising European stalwarts such as Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia who had defected.
"They'll miss us more than we miss them," he said.
Now he wants the rules to be changed so Rahm can tee it up in Bethpage Black in two years' time.
To top things off, there are rumours his nemesis Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and the aforementioned Woods are trying to steer the PGA Tour away from Saudi investment, putting at risk the framework agreement with LIV's backers.
It should be noted this Cantlay story was denied. Spieth found it hilarious.
But it could be perceived McIlroy isn't in the best frame of minds at present. So it was no surprise to see him take to X to blow off a little steam.
He's made a habit of using social media a bit more frequently over the last two weeks.
For example, he went on a bit of a rant about the golf ball rollback.
On Sunday, he decided to take a swipe at Henrik Stenson. The Swede was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy for joining LIV.
One user wrote: "I wonder if @McIlroyRory also wants to change the rules so Stenson can captain the team?"
To which McIlroy bit back:
The best thing to happen to the 2023 Euro Ryder cup team was Henrik going to LIV!
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) December 9, 2023
Poulter and Westwood both replied.
The Postman wrote: "Guys calm down …. This is a parody fake account.. Rory McIlroy wouldn't say this. it's fake I promise you. He is a class act and wouldn’t say that about a Team mate"
And Westwood added: "Nice to see the season of good will in full swing! Merry Christmas!!!"
Stenson reportedly got paid $50m for joining LIV.
He hasn't spoken at length about the decision to strip him of the captaincy.
Before the 151st Open, he said he was disappointed that, at the very least, conversations couldn't be had with Ryder Cup Europe.
Stenson previously said: "There were certain people, without naming names, that didn't want to sit down and take those meetings.
"As a consequence, I feel like we ended up in all of this that could have been avoided. But we live, and we learn."
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