Rory McIlroy risks wrath of Jordan Spieth with take on his DQ and future of golf
Rory McIlroy has offered his thoughts on Jordan Spieth's disqualification at the Genesis Invitational and renewed his call for a global tour.
Rory McIlroy has renewed his calls for a global golf tour as he weighed in on Jordan Spieth's disqualification from the Genesis Invitational.
Spieth was kicked out of Tiger Woods' tournament at Riviera Country Club for signing an incorrect scorecard.
Judging by Xander Schauffele's comments, Spieth rushed to the bathroom after his second round and that is where the mistake occurred.
His DQ led to a number of golf fans, commentators and even his peers suggesting the rules need to be softened in this regard.
It will come as no surprise that McIlroy adopted a traditional view on the topic when asked mid-way through the tournament.
McIlroy was asked by a reporter: "Never signed an incorrect scorecard? Have you ever been late for a tee time or anything like that?"
The Ulsterman replied: "No. I've been close, I've been close, but never been late for a tee time, never been -- taken the wrong drop two weeks ago.
"I think as professional golfers, I mean, it's sort of, you know, it's the one -- it's the one thing, and I understand with Jordan, he was hot coming off the golf course, it's easily done.
"But yeah, just unfortunate for him and unfortunate for the tournament that he's not around."
So where does McIlroy fall on punishment?
He said: "I can see both sides of it. You know, if we're really trying to keep this game like unbifurcated and trying to -- you know, the pros play by the same rules as the amateurs, then we all need to keep our playing partners' scorecards and we're responsible for that.
"But I also see the other side of the coin where there's thousands of people watching us, every shot's tracked on Shot Tracker and on the PGA Tour app, so if it -- is it really needed at this point.
"So I can see both sides of it, both sides of the argument.
"I probably am more of a traditionalist than anything else so I fall into the camp of it's worked for so long, I don't think you really need to change it."
McIlroy reiterates his desire for global tour
McIlroy was a former member of the PGA Tour's policy board. He said he resigned to concentrate on golf but it was clear he wasn't happy.
He was replaced by the aforementioned Spieth and later complained being on the board made him feel as though he was banging his head against the wall.
The Northern Irishman has now conceded that for the betterment of the game then LIV Golf's financiers, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, need to be involved in PGA Tour Enterprises.
Spieth, alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, appear to have taken a different stance.
For example Spieth has suggested a PIF deal - although still on the table - is no longer needed.
McIlroy was asked what PGA Tour Enterprises will eventually look like. "I would think it would be one tour," he said.
"I think you would just create a tour for the top 80 players in the world."
He continued: "Then I think everything sort of feeds up in that one.
"The way I look at it, it would be like [the] Champions League in European football.
"It sort of sits above the rest of the leagues and then all those leagues sort of feed up into that and the best of the best play against each other in the Champions League is how I would think about it."
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