Rory McIlroy RIPS into LIV Golf after flying start at Scottish Open

Rory McIlroy: "If LIV Golf was the last place on Earth to play golf, I would retire. That’s how I feel about it."

13 Jul 2023

Rory McIlroy RIPS into LIV Golf after flying start at Scottish Open

Rory McIlroy has ripped into LIV Golf just moments after racing out the blocks with a solid opening round of 6-under 64 at the Scottish Open.

McIlroy was asked for the first time about LIV Golf's quickly-rejected proposal for him to captain a team on the Saudi-backed circuit, and he did not hold back in his response to the media at The Renaissance Club.

"If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on earth I would retire, that’s how I feel about it," said McIlroy.

"I’d play the majors, but I’d be pretty comfortable [not playing]."

NEW: Documents suggest McIlroy made agreement with with LIV Golf exec in 2022

87 feet of putts made in six holes for @McIlroyRory
He leads the way in Scotland at -4.#GenesisScottishOpen | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/tvt2yMoXHP
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 13, 2023

McIlroy finds himself in early contention for a first Scottish Open title having started brightly with a 64 at The Renaissance Club, a course he has not typically gelled with in the past.

The World No.3 started on the 10th and rattled off five birdies on his first seven holes, including a bomb from long range on the 15th.

He would bogey the 17th and 2nd to fall out of the lead but he would then recover those shots with a fantastic eagle from just off the green at the par-5 3rd.

McIlroy added another birdie from eight feet at the 5th before making pars to the house.

Revealed: The huge LIV Golf offers turned down by the biggest and best PGA Tour stars

As it stands, McIlroy lies in second place and three strokes behind former BMW PGA champion Byeong-hun An, who fired a stunning 9-under 61.

This week's Scottish Open is co-sanctioned by both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

But it was McIlroy's comments after the round that wrote the bigger headlines, as you might expect, especially after the PGA Tour and DP World Tour recently announced their shock merger with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf.

Despite the merger with Saudi Arabia, McIlroy is still standing his ground by saying he wants nothing to do with LIV Golf.

McIlroy did not hold back shortly after the 'framework agreement' was announced between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi PIF early last month when saying: "I still hate LIV."

Earlier this week, PGA Tour officials said they refused to entertain the idea of McIlroy and Tiger Woods playing '10 LIV Golf' events or assist Yasir Al-Rumayyan in his bid to become a member of Augusta National and the Royal & Ancient.

A bizarre scene unfolded on 11 July when golf officials were grilled by US lawmakers about the stunning agreement to align the PGA Tour, European DP World Tour and LIV Golf under the umbrella of a new, for-profit company.

Just before PGA Tour chief operating officer Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne were sworn in did the US Senate panel release hundreds of pages of documents that revealed communications between the parties involved in the 'framework agreement'.

Those documents revealed PGA Tour officials were shown a slideshow titled "The Best of Both Worlds" during a secret meeting which contained proposals over what the landscape of men's professional golf would like like under their agreement.

Some of those plans included McIlroy and Woods being handed their own LIV Golf franchises on the condition they play in 10 events per year.

But McIlroy and Woods are said to have shut down such talk.

When pressed further on the PGA Tour's framework agreement with the Saudi PIF following Tuesday's hearing, McIlroy admitted he learned little.

McIlroy said:

"There wasn’t a lot of new information in there for me. There was going to be new information for other people, but as I’ve said I’ve almost been too close to it for the last year and a bit so it’s nice to try to distance myself from it."

McIlroy also responded to news that he had personally met up with Saudi PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan in recent times.

"I was with him at a Formula One race randomly a couple years ago in Austin," confirmed McIlroy.

"I saw him in Dubai at the end of last year. So he's obviously been in and around the golf world and obviously the wider sports world. He runs in the same circles as a lot of people that I know."

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