Rory McIlroy Calls Mickelson’s PGA vs. LIV Trends ‘Not Logical’

Rory McIlroy has put his money where his mouth is, recently.

The Northern Irishman was one of the earliest and most vocal opponents to LIV Golf over the summer, and McIlroy then went out and won the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup for the third time in his career.

Now, after three top-five finishes on the DP World Tour (where he is looking to win that tour’s season-long championship too), McIlroy has a chance to become the top-ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Rankings for the ninth time, depending on how he fares at the CJ Cup in South Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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McIlroy said prior to the start of the CJ Cup:

“Obviously, I have a chance to do it this week, but I’m proud of the fact that I’ve at least given myself a chance again… The last [time at No. 1] we were coming back from the lockdown from COVID in July 2020, and I feel like my game and my life has changed considerably since then, so it’s nice to have the opportunity again.”

A McIlroy win will put him back on top as long as current No. 1 Scottie Scheffler doesn’t finish runner-up. A solo second place for McIlroy and a finish worse than 34th for Scheffler will also do the trick for the reigning FedEx Cup champ.

Also on Wednesday, McIlroy was asked to respond to Phil Mickelson’s comments that “LIV Golf was trending up and the PGA Tour was trending down.” Not surprisingly, McIlroy had plenty to say.

Rory McIlroy doesn’t agree with Phil Mickelson that the PGA Tour is “trending downwards” pic.twitter.com/WEdEtN7Tti

— Golf Monthly (@GolfMonthly) October 20, 2022

McIlroy said:

“I understand why he said it because of the position he is in, but I don’t think anyone that takes a logical view of the game of golf can agree with what he said… I think there’s a ton of propaganda being used and all sorts of stuff. I certainly don’t see the PGA Tour trending downward at all. All the talent, 95% of the talent is here. You’ve got people like Tom Kim coming through [who is] the future of our game.”

Jon Rahm, who is also making his season debut at the CJ Cup, agreed with McIlroy.

“Man, I love Phil, but I don’t know what he’s talking about… I really don’t know why he said that… I think there’s some great changes being made and great changes for the players on the tour. I truly don’t know what drove him to say something like that.”

LIV Golf’s final event of the year is next weekend in Miami.

Cover Image Via Twitter