Rory McIlroy makes latest PGA Tour-PIF claim ahead of Ryder Cup: "It's true"

Rory McIlroy has provided an updated on his back injury ahead of the Ryder Cup and offered his latest thoughts on the PGA Tour's deal with LIV Golf.

Ben Smith

06 Sep 2023

Rory McIlroy makes latest PGA Tour-PIF claim ahead of Ryder Cup:

Rory McIlroy says his back is still not 100 per cent but he's not worried about his fitness for the forthcoming Ryder Cup.

McIlroy met with the media on 6 September ahead of the Irish Open on the DP World Tour.

The 34-year-old has already expressed his happiness with the strength of the European team after Luke Donald confirmed his six captain's picks at the beginning of the week.

McIlroy thinks it's an absolute no-brainer that Ludvig Aberg, the 23-year-old Swede with no major championship experience, should be included.

There were question marks as to whether McIlroy would be fully fit for the showdown against the United States.

The four-time major champion - as has been well-documented - has been struggling with a back injury.

European Ryder Cup Team 2023: Player Guide, Past Form, Stats and Top Scorer Odds

He tweaked it playing in the swimming pool with his daughter Poppy before the $75m PGA Tour season finale.

It went into spasm but he battled through the Tour Championship. His back got progressively better after every tournament round, he said.

A reporter asked McIlroy if he is worried about his fitness. "No, not at all," he said, adding:

"I've had much worse. I had much worse back issues when I was 21. So this is fine. This is a bit of tightness, a bit of a muscle spasm. This is nothing compared to some I've had.

"I've had a herniated disc and I've had stuff that would be a lot more worrying than this it, and I've got really good people around me that know what to do. It's fine. It's totally fine"

Does he just have an old man's back? "Yeah, I may be don't heal quite as fast as I used to but it's all good."

McIlroy will also play the BMW PGA Championship before jetting off to Rome with the rest of Team Europe.

However after playing at Wentworth he'll also attend a bachelor party in Mykonos.

"I'll have a few days to dry out," McIlroy previously joked.

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Captain Donald told the media:

"It's not like Rory is 22 or 21. He understands. There's nothing wrong in going out and have some fun with your friends. But I think he's got wise enough shoulders to know that he won't go crazy, so no concerns there."

"It neutralises the threat of LIV"

McIlroy later joined Off The Ball where spoke briefly about the PGA Tour's deal with the PIF of Saudi Arabia.

There is an deadline of 31 December for the PGA Tour, PIF, the DP World Tour and LIV Golf to come to an agreement.

McIlroy said:

"If this is what’s happening, the way I've sort of framed is the world has decided for me in a way… I've met the guys involved in PIF. I've sat with Yasir, I've talked to him. I've lived in Dubai, the people there are some of my closest friends, have the same beliefs as some of these people we are criticising."

He added:

"If we provide them a pathway where they're not taking over the sport, it neutralises the threat of LIV becoming something it hopefully shouldn't become."

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"They've played within the ecosystems of those other sports."
"They didn't try to buy the Premier League or F1."
Rory McIlroy spoke to @GolfWeeklyOTB's @nathanmurf & @MolloyJoe about his feelings on LIV Golf and the PIF.
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