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PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suggested earlier this month that any sort of truce with the rival LIV Golf circuit was seemingly "off the table" with an antitrust lawsuit leveled against them in August, but Rory McIlroy warned Wednesday that the current state of affairs in the world of golf "is ripping itself apart right now."
The defending FedEx Cup champion, who has been among the most outspoken against those who have defected to LIV, made it clear this week that he believes both sides should "try to work together," but added that now’s "not the right time" because of the current climate of things between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his tee shot on the 10th hole watched by his playing partner Tiger Woods of The United States during the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club on May 19, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
"I’ve always said I think there is a time and a place where everyone that’s involved here should sit down and try to work together," McIlroy told reporters, via Golf.com. "It’s very hard for that to happen right now when there’s two lawsuits going on."
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"I don’t want a fractured game. I never have. You look at some other sports and what’s happened and the game of golf is ripping itself apart right now," he continued. "And that’s no good for anyone. It’s no good for the guys on, you know, this side or the sort of traditional system and it’s no good for the guys on the other side, either. It’s no good for anyone."
LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman high fives the fans as he walks to the first tee during the final round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"There is a time and a place for it. I just think right now, with where everything is, it’s probably not the right time."
With some of the biggest names in golf having made the jump to the Saudi-backed circuit, McIlroy also said that he’s not opposed to LIV being given Official World Golf Ranking status to accurately reflect the game’s best competitors but said there’s certain "criteria" that would need to be met.
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"I certainly have no problem with them getting ranking points at all. But you just have to meet the criteria, and if you don’t meet the criteria, it’s going to be hard to justify why you should have them."
McIlroy’s comments come as LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman took aim at the PGA Tour and its defenders, who he says have behaved hypocritically.
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his shot of the on the sixth tee during the third round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Wilmington Country Club, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
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"You have the right to make your decision. Remember, Rory started on the European tour. Then Rory decided to leave the European tour to go play where all the money is, where I went to play, to the PGA Tour," Norman said during an appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored."
"Don’t begrudge the other players for making a decision, that is a rightful decision under their independent contractual rights, to go and do it. It’s just a shame that people have taken this stance, when you look back over a period of time, they’ve pretty much done the same thing themselves."
Norman also pointed out "title sponsors" that the Tour has that also have ties to the Saudi government.