Rory McIlroy slams door shut on Premier Golf League, saying: 'I'm out'

Rory McIlroy, the world No 1, has delivered a massive blow to a proposed breakaway Premier Golf League by saying he will not be part of the big-money world circuit.
World No 1 Rory McIlroy says he won't be involved in the proposed Premier Golf LeagueWorld No 1 Rory McIlroy says he won't be involved in the proposed Premier Golf League
World No 1 Rory McIlroy says he won't be involved in the proposed Premier Golf League

A week after 15-time major winner Tiger Woods talked about the proposals from British-based World Golf Group to revolutionise the game being a “natural evolution”, McIlroy slammed the door shut on the idea.

Speaking to reporters ahead of this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship, the four-time major winner said: “The more I’ve thought about it, the more I don’t like it. For me, I’m out.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Under the proposals, 48 players would compete in an 18-tournament season offering a total prize fund of $240million (£183m). The events would be 54 holes rather than the traditional 72 and there would be an individual and team league format, with the weekly individual winner picking up $2million (£1.5m) from a $10million (£7.5m) purse.

“The one thing as a professional golfer in my position that I value is the fact that I have autonomy and freedom over everything that I do,” added McIlroy, who has never been scared to speak his mind about any matter in the game and has earned his respect for his honesty in doing so.

“This is a perfect example. Some guys this week made the choice not to come to Mexico. If you go and play in this other golf league you’re not going to have that choice. I read a thing the other day that said if you take the money, they can tell you what to do, so if you don’t take the money they can’t tell you what to do.

“I think that’s my thing. I’ve never been one for being told what to do and I like to have that autonomy and freedom over my career and I feel I would give that up by going to play this other league.”

Meanwhile, Paul McGinley believes Woods is sitting out this week’s WGC because he is trying to stay fresh and hungry for this season’s majors, starting with his defence of the green jacket at Augusta National in April.

Woods, winner of a record 18 World Golf Championships, had already decided to skip the $10.5 million event before he finished last of the players who made the cut in the Genesis Invitational, which he hosted, in Los Angeles at the weekend.

It seems a surprising decision given the tournament outside Mexico City offers guaranteed world ranking, FedEx Cup and Olympic points, with Woods currently eighth in the battle for four spots on the US team for the Tokyo Games later in the year.

“Honestly, you don’t know with Tiger as we are only guessing when it comes to him,” said McGinley of the 15-time major winner, who has undergone four separate back surgeries in recent years, as well as a couple of procedures on his knee.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Last year, for instance, he kept telling everyone that nothing was wrong with him, but his form was off. He said he was fine but then had to have a knee operation, after which he came back flying again and playing well.

“Like all things with Tiger, he doesn’t want to give away an edge, whether he is carrying an injury or whether his back or knee is sore. You are only hazarding a guess with Tiger. But, like most guys when they get towards the end of their career, they seem to scale down their schedule and I can understand that.

"Lee Westwood is a good example and, interestingly, I played with Adam Scott last year and he was talking about how he has played professional golf for so long now and the most important thing for him is to have an appetite to play and an appetite to compete.

“If he plays a full schedule, he won’t have that appetite, so he is kind of trying to play a little less so when he is there he is able to mentally engage in playing. I think you will probably see Tiger doing that as well, but you never know. We’ve heard so many stories over the years and all we are doing, really, is guessing whether he is healthy or not.”

In his first event on the PGA Tour this year, 39-year-old Scott won the Genesis Invitational, adding to European Tour victories for both Westwood and Graeme McDowell at the age of 46 and 40 respectively in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Saudi International earlier in the year.

“It is good to see,” said McGinley, speaking exclusively to The Scotsman, of some of the game’s experienced campaigners showing they can still flex their muscles, “but I still think it is very much a young man’s game, to be honest.

“I think power is such a big part of the game and, as we move away from early-season golf courses and get more into the longer and softer courses we see in the summertime, that will play more into the hands of the younger guys, I think.”