Rory McIlroy has criticized LIV Golf’s spending as ‘irrational,’ but the Saudi-backed circuit’s CEO Scott O’Neil refused to engage in a war of words with the PGA Tour star
McIlroy has criticized LIV Golf’s aggressive spending approach
LIV Golf’s CEO Scott O’Neil is determined to secure his league’s legitimacy within the golfing community, but he’s not looking to engage in any public spat with star player Rory McIlroy.
The breakaway circuit has submitted two applications for inclusion in the Official World Golf Rankings and even modified its structure away from the original 54-hole, no-cut, closed-field format. Gaining OWGR recognition would open doors for LIV players to compete in major championships and move the tour closer to mainstream acceptance.
The Saudi-funded operation has also poured significant resources into recruiting high-profile talent including Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm. However,McIlroy contends that this aggressive spending approach has deepened the divide between LIV and established tours.
READ MORE: Neergaard-Petersen claims victory over LIV star Smith in Australian Open and reaps the rewardsREAD MORE: Padraig Harrington gives brutal Jon Rahm verdict after practice round with him
McIlroy shared his perspective with CNBC: “You see some of these other sports that have been fractured for so long,” and “You look at boxing for example, or you look at what’s happened in motor racing in the United States with Indy and Nascar and everything else, I think for golf in general it would be better if there was unification.”
Scott O’Neil responds to McIlroy’s comments on LIV golf’s finances(Image: Getty Images)
He added: “But I just think with what’s happened over the last few years, it’s just going to be very difficult to be able to do that.”, reports the Mirror US.
O’Neil chose not to engage in any disagreement with McIlroy, maintaining a diplomatic stance when responding to the World No. 2’s comments.
“Rory has had an extraordinary career and is an extraordinary player,” O’Neil remarked. “I’ve met him a couple of times, but I don’t know him so don’t really want to comment. All I will say is I am working every day to create the greatest sports league in the world.
“We have players who are committed and our players commit to a different level of travel.”
Meanwhile, McIlroy has expressed concerns that LIV’s expenditure has spiraled beyond reason.
“As someone who supports the traditional structure of men’s professional golf, we have to realize we were trying to deal with people that were acting, in some ways, irrationally, just in terms of the capital they were allocating and the money they were spending,” McIlroy stated in late November.
“It’s been four or five years and there hasn’t been a return yet but they’re going to have to keep spending that money to even just maintain what they have right now.
“A lot of these guys’ contracts are up. They’re going to ask for the same number or an even bigger number. LIV have spent five or six billion US dollars and they’re going to have to spend another five or six just to maintain where they are.
For all the latest news straight to your inbox, sign up for our FREE newsletters here.
“I’m way more comfortable being on the PGA Tour side than on their side but who knows what’ll happen.”
O’Neil acknowledged that certain financial decisions predated his tenure and confirmed he’s assembled a team to address the budget concerns. “I only have an 11-month view. I wasn’t here when they had to do what they had to do to set LIV up, I wasn’t here when some of the madness in the ecosystem was happening.
“I only know from the first day of January when I showed up, I have hired a business team that I would argue is second to none in terms of commercial acumen. So I like what we do and how we do it.
“I feel like there’s a good opportunity to have plenty of growth in markets like Australia, Korea, the UK, North America, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore. I know I am in the market. There are golf fans everywhere.”
For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here.
