It’s been less than 24 hours since Scotty Scheffler gave his stamp of approval for the 2024 Masters Tournament, but LIV Golf is already grabbing headlines.
According to City AM, Rory McIlroy, who has one career Grand Slam left and a Masters title remaining, is rumored to be in talks with LIV. english outlet Focuses on business and finance.
According to reports, two separate sources told the newspaper that a deal is close and could be worth a whopping $850 million. However, McIlroy will also receive a 2% investment stake in the company.
It would be remiss of me not to point out that City AM also said it was impossible to verify the claims.
When a rival league funded by Saudi Arabia revolted against the PGA Tour, McIlroy became the knight in shining armor. He was vehemently opposed to LIV Golf and everything it represented.
Then, on June 6, a framework agreement between LIV and the PGA Tour was announced.
As a result, McIlroy said he felt like a “sacrificial lamb.”
Since then, his stance has softened in recent months.
“I think what LIV has done has exposed the flaws in the golf system…We should all be independent contractors and we should be able to choose the tournaments we want to play. But… “I think what LIV and Saudi Arabia have revealed is that they’re asking for millions of dollars to sponsor these events, and yet the sponsors can’t guarantee that the players will be there,” McIlroy said. January.
Photo by: Warren Little/Getty Images
“I can’t believe the PGA Tour has been this good for this long,” McIlroy said.
If the deal goes through, it would be the biggest blow to the PGA Tour to date. 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm signed with LIV Golf in December and brought with him Tyrrell Hatton.
Many other former stars on the PGA Tour have also changed teams, including Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith and Dustin Johnson.
But no player can carry the same weight as McIlroy.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman followed McIlroy’s group to last weekend’s Masters. After the opening game, he was asked if he knew the four-time major champion. He replied that he had never seen it.
The Northern Irishman is still scheduled to play in the PGA Tour’s next marquee event, this week’s RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.
Kendall Capps is the senior editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through.For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social media platforms.
