RORY MCILROY PLAYS IN THE ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP, 2022 / IMAGE: MATT HOOPER
8 JUNE, 2023 - SHANK MEDIA, BY MATT HOOPER: TUESDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT LIV GOLF, THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR WERE TO MERGE WAS MET WITH SHOCK AND A MIXED REACTION ACROSS THE GOLFING WORLD, BUT ONE THING WHICH JAY MONAHAN WAS QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT HE WANTED TO BRING AN END TO THE TENSION AND DIVISION IN THE SPORT. THE AIM WAS TO UNIFY GOLF ON A GLOBAL LEVEL WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND OF SAUDI ARABIA, MERGING THE COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS OF THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND, LIV GOLF. MUCH SPECULATION OVER HOW RORY MCILROY WOULD REACT TO THIS STUNNING NEWS SWIRLED ACROSS THE MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA ON TUESDAY EVENING, AND THEN ON WEDNESDAY WE GOT TO HEAR FROM THE 4-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION AND FORMER WORLD NUMBER ONE IN CANADA.
“I still hate LIV. Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away
and I would fully expect that it does,”
“LIV’s got nothing to do with this, right. It’s the PGA Tour, DP World Tour
and the Public Investment Fund
basically partnering to create a new company,”
THE SHEER ARROGANCE OF MCILROY'S STATEMENT ON WEDNESDAY WILL CONTINUE TO FOSTER A BAD ATMOSPHERE BETWEEN THE GOLFERS ON LIV GOLF AND THE PGA TOUR, MONAHAN HAD CALLED FOR AN END TO THE TENSION AND DIVISION, AND RORY WADED IN THERE HEAD FIRST AND OPENED UP OLD WOUNDS YET AGAIN. LIV GOLF OR THE CONCEPT OF LIV GOLF IS NOT GOING AWAY ANY TIME SOON, AND NEITHER SHOULD IT. IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM THE SPORT, IF GIVEN A CHANCE TO BREATHE. ITS LEGACY AND THE LEGACY OF THIS MERGER COULD BE ENORMOUS FOR GOLF, AND LEGACY IS SOMETHING RORY IS KEEN TO TALK ABOUT WHEN IT SUITS HIM.
RORY TALKS ABOUT LEGACY, AND JAY MONAHAN TALKS ABOUT THE PGA TOUR BEING "LEGACY DRIVEN", BUT THE FACT IS THAT THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT GOLFERS OF THE PAST HAS NOT ONLY BEEN THE NUMBER OF WINS THEY HAVE HAD ON THE PGA TOUR, IT HAS BEEN THE WINS THEY HAVE HAD AROUND THE WORLD, WHERE THEY HAVE PLAYED AROUND THE WORLD AND WHAT THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SPORT AS A WHOLE. IN THE LAST 10 YEARS RORY MCILROY HAS PLAYED JUST 4 TOURNAMENTS ON MAINLAND EUROPE - INCLUDING THE 2022 ITALIAN OPEN, 2019 OMEGA EUROPEAN MASTERS, 2016 OPEN DE FRANCE AND 2015 TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN - AND HE WON EXACTLY ZERO TOURNAMENTS ON MAINLAND EUROPE IN HIS ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL CAREER. LET US COMPARE THIS TO SEVE BALLESTEROS AT THE PEAK OF HIS CAREER BETWEEN 1980 AND 1989, A PERIOD WHICH SAW HIM WIN THE MASTERS AND OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP TWICE TO TAKE HIM TO WORLD NUMBER ONE AND FIVE CAREER MAJORS.
SEVE PLAYED A REMARKABLE 73 TOURNAMENTS IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE DURING HIS PEAK YEARS, WINNING 21 TOURNAMENTS WHILST HELPING TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF GOLF ACROSS THE CONTINENT ESPECIALLY IN SPAIN, GERMANY, BELGIUM, SWEDEN AND THE NETHERLANDS. AT THE SAME TIME SEVE MANAGED TO PUT TOGETHER ONE OF THE GREATEST MAJOR RESUMES OF THE MODERN ERA, WINNING 2 GREEN JACKETS, 2 CLARET JUGS AND FINISHING IN THE TOP 3 OF 4 OTHER MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. SEVE ENDED HIS CAREER WITH 5 MAJOR TITLES (1 MORE THAN RORY), 50 EUROPEAN TOUR WINS, 3 REGULAR PGA TOUR WINS AND A CAREER TITLE HAUL OF NEARLY 90 VICTORIES, INCLUDING 5 WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS. BUT HIS GREATEST LEGACY WAS THE POPULARISATION OF GOLF ACROSS EUROPE AND MUCH OF THE WORLD, INCLUDING JAPAN, WHERE HE WON 3 TOURNAMENTS DURING HIS PEAK YEARS.
WE HEAR A LOT FROM THE PGA TOUR AND THEIR PUPPET MEDIA AND PLAYERS REGARDING THE LEGACY OF ARNOLD PALMER AND JACK NICKLAUS, THEY LARGELY IGNORE GARY PLAYER BECAUSE HE ISN'T AMERICAN. BUT THEIR GREATEST LEGACY ISN'T THEIR WINS ON THE PGA TOUR, IT IS THEIR MAJOR TITLES AND THE FACT THEY HELPED TO POPULARISE THE SPORT, NOT JUST IN AMERICA, BUT ALL AROUND THE WORLD. FIRSTLY LET US TALK ABOUT THE WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP AT WENTWORTH. THE BIG THREE WON THIS TOURNAMENT A COMBINED 8 TIMES, AND THEIR PRESENCE ELEVATED THE EVENT AND THE STATURE OF WENTWORTH. THEN THERE IS THE WORLD CUP OF GOLF, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE CANADA CUP. ARNOLD PALMER AND JACK NICKLAUS TEAMED UP TO REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES IN PARIS, TOKYO, MEXICO AND HAWAII, AND BOTH REPRESENTED THE UNITED STATES IN ADDITIONAL WORLD CUPS WITH DIFFERENT PARTNERS IN IRELAND, ARGENTINA AND SPAIN.
GARY PLAYER PLAYED FOR SOUTH AFRICA IN THE 1957 WORLD CUP IN JAPAN, AND THE UNHERALDED JAPANESE TEAM CLAIMED A STUNNING VICTORY OVER A FIELD WHICH ALSO INCLUDED SAM SNEAD AND JIMMY DEMARET FOR THE UNITED STATES. THIS WIN SPARKED A GOLFING BOOM IN JAPAN, AND IS CREDITED AS THE MOMENT WHICH SAW GOLF EXPLODE IN THE COUNTRY. SINCE THEN JAPAN HAS GONE ON TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS IN THE ENTIRE GOLF INDUSTRY WITH THE LIKES OF MIZUNO, SRIXON AND HOMNA PLAYING A HUGE ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOLF BALLS AND EQUIPMENT. AND VARIOUS COMMERCIAL PARTNERS INCLUDING SONY, NIKON, PANASONIC AND TOYOTA HAVE GONE ON TO BE MAJOR SUPPORTERS OF GOLF WORLDWIDE.
THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1904, BUT IT WAS THE PRESENCE OF THE BIG THREE IN THE 1960'S AND 70'S WHICH ELEVATED IT IN THE MINDS OF GOLFERS AND GOLF FANS WORLDWIDE. BETWEEN THEM THE BIG THREE CLAIMED THE STONEHAVEN CUP ON A REMARKABLE 15 OCCASIONS BETWEEN 1958 AND 1978. THIS HELPED TO POPULARISE THE GAME IN AUSTRALIA, AND INSPIRE A YOUNG GREG NORMAN TO GREAT GOLFING ACHIEVEMENTS OF HIS OWN IN THE COMING TWO DECADES.
NOW LET US IMAGINE THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF A WORLDWIDE PGA TOUR WHICH INCLUDES TEAM FRANCHISES, THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF STINGER, FEATURING FOUR SOUTH AFRICANS, WINNING ON HOME SOIL OR A KOREAN TEAM CONQUERING THE WORLD IN THEIR HOMELAND AND AN EVEN GREATER MOMENT MIGHT BE TORQUE TRIUMPHING IN CHILE OR COLOMBIA. NOBODY IS SAYING THAT GOLF IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL SPORT, AND LIV GOLF HAS PROVEN IT CAN BE BOTH. WITH THE SUPPORT AND REACH OF THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND THEIR PARTNERS IN THE ASIAN TOUR, JAPAN GOLF TOUR, SUNSHINE TOUR AND PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA, THIS CONCEPT CAN EXPLODE, NO MATTER WHAT RORY MCILROY SAYS AND THINKS.
TOO MUCH ATTENTION HAS BEEN GIVEN TO WHAT RORY THINKS AND SAYS, AND HIS TRACK RECORD OF SAYING RATHER DAFT THINGS IN THE PAST SHOULD BE NOTED HERE. IN 2009 HE CALLED THE RYDER CUP AN EXHIBITION - "It's not a huge goal of mine. It's an exhibition at the end of the day. In the big scheme of things it's not that important an event for me."
"If I play well enough [to qualify] I play well enough. And if I don't, then so be it." (IRISHCENTRAL.COM)
HE SOON HAD TO BACK TRACK ON THOSE COMMENTS ONCE HE HAD QUALIFIED TO PLAY AT CELTIC MANOR IN 2010. MCILROY SAID "Next week is going to be fantastic. It's definitely not an exhibition, it's a great spectacle. I said exhibition last year when I was not focused on a team event."
THOSE PREVIOUS COMMENTS IN 2009 WERE ONE OF AN INEXPERIENCED ROOKIE PRO, BUT THEY LACKED RESPECT FOR THE LEGACY OF TONY JACKLIN AND SEVE BALLESTEROS, WHOSE CONTRIBUTION PRETTY MUICH SAVED THE RYDER CUP FROM GOING OUT OF EXISTENCE. THE RYDER CUP WAS ONCE A NON-EVENT, PARTICULARLY IN THE 70'S AND 80'S, BUT NOW IT IS BY FAR THE BIGGEST EVENT IN GOLF, WITH AN IMPACT WHICH TRANSCENDS THE SPORT TO NEW AUDIENCES EVERY TIME IT IS PLAYED. NOW IMAGINE IF THE TEAM ELEMENT OF LIV GOLF WAS REFINED AND ROLLED OUT ACROSS ALL TOURNAMENTS, EFFECTIVELY TURNING GOLF INTO FORMULA 1 AND CYCLING. IF DONE CORRECTLY THIS CAN BRING A NEW AUDIENCE TO THE SPORT, WITHOUT FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGING THE SPORT. CURRENTLY THE LIV MODEL IS 54 HOLES, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, THIS MODEL OF TEAM GOLF WHERE 3 SCORES COUNT EACH DAY CAN EASILY BE ROLLED OUT ACROSS THE ENTIRE LANDSCAPE OF PRO GOLF, AND BRING YOUNGER AND MORE DIVERSE AUDIENCES TO THE GAME. IF AUDIENCE SIZES AND DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGE THEN PARTICIPATION WILL ALSO EXPLODE, NOT JUST IN ESTABLISHED MARKETS, BUT EMERGING AND NEW ONES TOO.
AHEAD OF GOLF'S RETURN TO THE OLYMPICS IN 2016 R0RY MCILROY SAID THIS: “Probably (will watch) events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters.”
“I don’t feel like I’ve let the game down at all,” he said. “I didn’t get into golf to try to grow the game. I got into golf to win championships and win majors. All of a sudden you get to this point and there is a responsibility on you to grow the game and I get that. But at the same time that’s not the reason I got into golf. I got into golf to win. I didn’t get into golf to get other people into the game.
“I get where different people come from and different people have different opinions but I’m very happy with the decision I’ve made and I have no regrets about it.” (theguardian.com)
FIVE YEARS LATER ONCE HE HAD SAVOURED THE OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE IN TOKYO HE SAID THIS: “I never obviously competed in an Olympic Games, I watched them from a far, but being a part of something that's completely different and bigger than me and even our sport in general, that's a pretty cool thing,” he said. “I didn't know if this was going to be my only Olympics that I play or whatever and I'm already looking forward to Paris [host for the 2024 games].” (GOLFDIGEST.COM)
HE LATER SAID HE SHOULD "give things a chance". CLEARLY IN THE TIME SINCE THE TOKYO OLYMPICS HE HAS FORGOTTEN WHAT HE SAID, BECAUSE AS HE SHOWED YESTERDAY HE STILL ISN'T READY TO GIVE LIV A CHANCE. GIVEN MCILROY'S HISTORY OF NOT GIVING THINGS A CHANCE AND BEING PROVED CATEGORICALLY WRONG, I THINK ITS TIME WE STOPPED PUTTING SO MUCH STOCK IN WHAT HE SAYS. HE'S A GREAT GOLFER, AND AN ENGAGING PERSON, BUT HE ISN'T THE LEADER OF THE GOLFING WORLD, HE IS LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE AND GOLF NEEDS LESS OF THAT GOING FORWARD.
