In-form Rory McIlroy ‘not trying to prove anything’ as LIV row divides golf

Rory McIlroy insists he is not playing to prove a point after continuing his fine run of form with an opening round of 62 at the Travelers Championship.

The Northern Irishman took the clubhouse lead in Connecticut having won the Canadian Open a fortnight ago and contended at last week’s US Open – eventually finishing joint fifth. McIlroy’s resurgence comes as the PGA Tour faces the biggest threat in its history from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series.

“I just think it so happens that the most protective of the PGA Tour are the best players in the world right now,” McIlroy said after his round. “I’m not going out to try to prove anything to anyone. I’m in a good run of form. I’m playing well.”

“Whether that gives me a little more confidence to speak up on certain issues, maybe,” McIlroy, a fierce critic of the new breakaway tour, added. “But I’m just going out there trying to play my game and trying to win some more tournaments.”

McIlroy’s eight-under-par was just ahead of the Olympic gold medallist Xander Schauffele and Scotland’s Martin Laird. The world No 2 also matched his best-ever opening round on the PGA Tour with Thursday’s bogey-free display at TPC River Highlands.

In response to the growing LIV threat which saw the four-time major winner Brooks Koepka decamp on Wednesday, the PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced a combined increased purse size of almost $60m (£48.9m) at eight tournaments next year. The schedule will also revert to a calendar year, with the FedEx Cup season now running from January to August.

McIlroy welcomed the changes and, asked whether he thought it would make a difference to players considering a switch to LIV, he added: “As he [Monahan] said, there’s only one reason that the guys are