Rory McIlroy fires shots at Ryder Cup teammate for wearing “very rose-tinted glasses”
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Rory McIlroy disagrees with a Ryder Cup teammate and former world number one, while sharing his view on Tom McKibbin’s possible switch to LIV Golf, there being too much money in the game, and his lack of optimism for the future of golf.
The recent fracturing of golf’s tour landscape unfortunately means that star players like Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm rarely go head-to-head on the course these days. Last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic was one exception, which saw McIlroy and a stellar field of DP World Tour stars joined by six LIV players in the form of Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Adrian Meronk, Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters, and Dean Burmester.
While Rahm and McIlroy weren’t paired together for any of the action at the Emirates Golf Club, it was a good opportunity for the press to quiz them both (at least before Rahm missed the cut and went home early) on some of the biggest issues in golf and compare their views.
Jon Rahm is planning to be on the 2025 Ryder Cup team
Q. With the Team Cup last week, could I get your position? Obviously we know you’ve got the appeal against the fines. If that is heard before the Ryder Cup, would you settle the account and still make yourself available?
Rahm: I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but I can tell you my plan is to be on that team at Bethpage.
Q. So that would be regardless of the outcome of the appeal, you would make yourself available?
Rahm: I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m hoping they don’t try to settle the appeal before the Ryder Cup. I don’t think that would be good for anybody.
But my plan is to be at Bethpage.
Rahm feels we’re in a “golden era for golf”
Q. As we start 2025, what is your assessment of where professional golf is, and is it where you expected it would be at this point?
Rahm: It’s hard to tell at this point. I think a lot of us would say that when that framework agreement was done over a year and a half ago, things would be further along at this point.
And it’s really hard to know what goes on behind closed doors, right. It’s up to people much higher up than me. I don’t know what their vision is or what they are expecting out of it. I think so many of us want some kind of resolution to come together and get the best product possible for the consumer, which is what I think we’re still in a position to do.
But I think we’re living in a golden era right now for golf where the possibilities are endless. A big tour in Europe and worldwide and a massive tour, the PGA Tour, and you have another big product with LIV and now you’re even adding the TGL. When it comes to golf, the possibilities are there right now.
I think with the right minds put together, you can end up with a product, and I’ve been saying this all along, that could put golf at a different level in the world of sport. I’m still hopeful that that can happen and whatever it looks like, it will look like whatever it looks like.
But we are in that position nowadays to put golf in a higher level and I hope that happens.
Jon Rahm says not giving LIV Golf World Ranking points “is wrong”
Q. Heading into your second season on LIV, did you really think a year ago that there would be no World Ranking points available yet a year on from when you joined, and how frustrating has that been for you going forward?
Rahm: I think I’ve expressed my opinions on the World Ranking system before I joined LIV. But they told us – they told me early on, I think even before I signed in the early conversations, that they were not going to pursue those discussions to the same level because they knew where it was directed.
I think at this point to not give LIV World Ranking points and the credibility it deserves, I think is wrong.
Listen, I understand we’ve all made a decision and it’s not as easy as it sounds but to say that LIV players don’t deserve some spots in major championships I think is wrong and I hope that evolves into what it should be. I think Joaquin Niemann has done a good enough job for him to earn his way into major championships without invites. Talor Gooch played good enough a few years ago to earn his way into majors without invites. There should be a way for us to qualify. And the World Ranking points, need to figure something out because it’s not fair for anybody in that sense.
Rahm insists LIV is “just as competitive as pretty much any other tour”
Q. There’s been some reports about Tom McKibbin transferring over [to LIV Golf]. Wonder what you make of him as a player, and do you think LIV is a good environment for a young player like that to progress?
Rahm: I can’t tell you what a good and bad environment is for Tom. I think that’s an answer for him. I think it is a good environment as any, really. It’s just as competitive as pretty much any other tour. You have to go out there and play against some of the best players in the world, so yeah, it’s an environment in which you can grow very rapidly, as well.
He’s a fantastic player, and the possibilities for him are endless whenever he decides to do.
Rory McIlroy says “it would be disappointing” if Tom McKibbin joins LIV Golf
Q. What was your reaction what you heard about a Holywood Golf Club member talking about joining the rival tour?
Rory McIlroy: Yeah, look, I have known Tom since he was 10 years old, 11 years old, and as soon as he got the offer, he rang me. I just landed in New Zealand. We had a really good conversation. And I talked to him multiple times over the course of December to sort of get a feel for what he was thinking and, basically, what he was going to do. And all I could do is give my perspective.
I really like Tom as a person and as a player. I think he’s got a ton of potential. I said to him, “If I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making“. I think, you know, working so hard to get your Tour card in the States, something that he did, to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement.
I think what he potentially is sacrificing and giving up with access to majors, potential Ryder Cup spot, it just wouldn’t have been… you know, depending… look, I don’t think anything is official yet.
But if I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision.
But I’m not him. I’m not in his shoes. He’s a grown man and can make his own decisions. All I can do is try to give him my perspective.
Personally, for me, it would be a little disappointing if it were to happen but again, I made it perfectly clear: I am not going to stand in your way if you need to make the decision you feel like you need to make for yourself.
But at the same time, I feel like he’s giving up a lot to not really benefit that much, you know?
Q. Did he seem pretty headstrong that he wanted to go to LIV?
McIlroy: No, very open. Very open to hearing my perspective and I appreciated him calling me to get it, as well.
But again, as I said, at the end of the day, he has to make his own decision, and when he does, whatever way that goes, I’m always going to be a fan of his. I’m always going to try to help him in whatever way that I can.
But you know, whatever way he chooses to go, you know, he’s going to live with it, which is totally fine. I think we all see the potential that he has, and I definitely think he can be a Top-10 player in the world. But obviously his ranking won’t show that for the next couple years if he makes one decision over another.
Q. It looks from the outside that you’ve put quite a bit of effort into being a mentor for him along the way, and I wonder if it’s even more disappointing when the sums are not quite as eye-popping as they were a year or two years ago, especially spread over two years.
McIlroy: Yeah, no one knows exactly how much he’s going to get.
What I would say is, there is still a ton of money to be made on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. There is so much money in the game, and some would argue too much money in the game for the eyeballs that we attract.
As I said, I think that for whatever the benefit may be, I don’t think it’s worth the sacrifice to what he’s potentially going to give up.
McIlroy accuses Rahm of wearing “very rose-tinted glasses”
Q: Jon Rahm was in here yesterday and said we’re in a Golden Era for golf with endless possibilities. I wonder what your take on that characterization is. Is it something you agree with?
McIlroy: Very rose-tined glasses, if you ask me.
What I would say is with everything that’s happened in the game over the past two or three years, I think what I maybe could envision is that the domination of the American side of things might come back a little bit in terms of, not that the game has never been global, but you know, sort of trying to build on the opportunities globally. So I think where we are, I think we are in a good position to try to grow that part of it.
There are amazing players that play in all different tours and parts of the world and everything, which is great. But at the same time, it’s become too fractured and too disjointed.
I would share his optimism if the game wasn’t as disjointed and as fractured as it was. You know, maybe we’ll get to that point sometime in the near future, and if we do, then I would say, I would share that optimism.
About the author
Rob McGarr – Contributing Editor
Rob has been a writer and editor for over 15 years, covering all manner of subjects for leading magazines and websites.
He has previously been Features Editor of Today’s Golfer magazine and Digital Editor of todays-golfer.com, and held roles at FHM, Men’s Running, Golf World, and MAN Magazine.
You can follow him on YouTube where – depending on what day of the week it is – he’ll either be trying his best to get his handicap down to scratch or shoving his clubs in a cupboard, never to be seen again.
Rob is a member at Royal North Devon, England’s oldest golf course, where he plays off a three-handicap.
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Rory McIlroy opened up on the state of golf at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
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Rory McIlroy and Tom McKibbin are good friends.
