McIlroy 'presumptuous' over LIV Golf demise, now sees it shaping future

TULSA: Rory McIlroy, who wrote off the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series as "dead in the water" in February, said Tuesday (May 17) it instead will "shape the future of professional golf".

The controversial rival to the US PGA and DP World tours guided by Australian legend Greg Norman was a major topic of conversation at Southern Hills ahead of Thursday's start of the PGA Championship.

McIlroy said in February that LIV Golf would be little more than a glorified 50-and-over tour, saying, "It's dead in the water in my opinion. I just can't see any reason why anyone would go."

With LIV Golf's first event next month in London set to pay a record US$25 million, McIlroy's tune has changed even with no players so far committed to the upstart series.

"I might have been a little presumptuous at that point," McIlroy said. "It seems like it's still going. Greg and everyone behind it are very determined.

"Guys are going to make decisions. Honestly it's going to shape the future of professional golf one way or another, so I think we're just going to have to see how it all shakes out."

Norman was asked last week about Saudi involvement in the 2018 slaying of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi and replied in part, "Look, we've all made mistakes and you just want to learn from those mistakes."

"We do all make mistakes," McIlroy said. "I think Greg is in a very tough position because he has taken the role of being the leader of something that is very divisive.

"Greg can sit with the media for five hours and give four hours and 50 minutes of pretty good answers, and the 10 minutes that he maybe drops his guard is what's going to be picked up on.

"I just think he's in a no-win situation ... It's certainly not a position I'd like to be in."

McIlroy