Rory McIlroy warns young players of 'massive risk' over Super League

Rory McIlroy has warned golf’s young guns that they would be taking a “massive risk” by signing up for a proposed Saudi-backed Super League.

The four-time major winner has been one of the leading voices opposing the breakaway circuit and has joined Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa, the two top-ranked players in the game, in saying that he’s remaining loyal to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

Speaking ahead of his appearance in this week’s Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, replied, smiling, to being asked about the Super League: “Oh, I'm so sick of it.”

Players could be banned from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour if they sign up for the rival circuit, while Ryder Cup careers could also be on the line.

Rory McIlroy during the pro-am prior to The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Picture: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images.

“Look, I guess I'm intrigued who would (join),” added McIlroy. “Certainly for the younger guys it just seems a massive risk.

“I can maybe make sense of it for the guys that are getting to the latter stages of their career

"I don't think that's what a rival golf league is really going to want, is it? They don't want some sort of league that's like a pre-Champions Tour.

"I understand the financial part of it for guys that are later on in their career. You look at the people that have already said no - [Jon] Rahm, No 1 in the world, Collin Morikawa, myself.

"Like you've got the top players in the world are saying no, so that has to tell you something."

One player thinking about joining the Super League is 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott.

"I think that the schedule they're proposing is very appealing to probably most golfers, I would think, depending what your goals are in golf," said the 41-year-old Australian.

"Yes (I have had discussions with them), but like everyone else, we're sworn to secrecy.

"I think you can argue both sides of lots of things but, at the end of the day, I think my general feeling on this is that it is only a positive thing for professional golfers that there is interest and money coming into the sport.

"How everything else pans out, I don't know but I think it's good that these things are happening for golf professionals."

McIlroy is making his first outing this week since letting a golden chance to win a third Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic slip out of his hands at the end of last month.

Needing a birdie at the par-5 18th at Emirates Golf Club to come out on top, he went for the green in two with a 3-wood only to find the water and take 6.

That cost him a place in a play-off, which saw Viktor Hovland beat Richard Bland with a birdie at the first extra hole.

“Not really,” replied McIlroy to being asked if he’d had a decision to make with his second shot. “I had 255 front, I could have got 5-wood there, I could have stepped on a 3-iron and got there if I wanted to.

“I tried to hit a 3-wood and hold it back up against the wind from a hanging lie and I just caught it off the heel and it flared up in the wind. Made a bad swing at a bad time.”

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