Rory McIlroy hits Jon Rahm with ‘cannibalising’ comment after LIV golf defection
Rory McIlroy fears a ‘divide’ in golf after Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm completed a staggering £400m move from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. The Spaniard’s defection to the Saudi-backed breakaway league was finalised on Thursday, making the world No. 3 the highest-paid sportsperson on earth, earning almost three times as much as footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The reigning Masters champion will follow in the footsteps of Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson as major winners who have switched from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf for ultra-lucrative deals.
It leaves PGA poster boy McIlory in a difficult situation as he continues to stay loyal to the American-based operation. And the Northern Irishman has shared his concern at what he sees as a diluting of elite men’s golf as an overall product with the world’s best players competing in separate competitions.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McIlroy said: “My fear is that we continue down this path where we have competing tours and it divides the eyeballs that are on the game. Some people like LIV, the majority of people like the PGA Tour, but if LIV start to take a few players each and every year it’s really going to be divided and that’s no good for anyone.
“You’re basically cannibalising yourself as a sport, sort of the same as what boxing has done with all the different organisations and a few other sports have as well. To me, having all the best golfers under the one umbrella is the best way forward because I think that’s really what the public wants.
