LIV GOLF 'HAPPY' TO OPEN TALKS WITH RORY MCILROY AS GREG NORMAN CLARIFIES STANCE

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has confirmed that he would be "100 per cent" open to engaging in talks with Rory McIlroy over a sensational switch to the circuit - in the wake of the Northern Irishman's vow to stay put on the PGA Tour.

As golf's civil war shows no tangible signs of abating, the four-time major winner has long been characterized as one of the PIF-backed tour's fiercest critics. However, erroneous reports recently emerged that the world no. 2 had been offered a $850m deal alongside two per cent equity to jump ship to Saudi Arabia.

Amid the fallout from these rumours, clarity has since been brought to the situation as LIV chief Norman confirmed McIlroy's insistence that he would never play on the LIV circuit by saying a concrete proposal was never tabled to the Northern Irishman. In the meantime, the latter has also been linked with a return to the PGA Tour's policy board as the American circuit looks to navigate its next chapter.

This comes as the talks over a framework agreement over a merger between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour have reached an impasse. Now, Norman has addressed the speculation over McIlroy's links with the LIV project, as he admitted: "LIV never put an offer to him.

"We didn't need to make a comment about this, this is just typical white noise that gets out there in the industry. If Rory was willing to sit down and have a conversation with us, would we be happy to sit down with him? 100 per cent, no different than any other player who would be interested in coming on and playing with us.

"I’ve sat down with one top, top PGA Tour player in his house with another member of my team, walking through the whole process, and he was so impressed. But he made the decision. He called me up two days later and said, ‘I’ve decided to stay where I’m at’. I said, ‘Happy days. You made a decision on fact. Your door is always open; if you want to come back and have a conversation with us, happy to do that’."

As for McIlroy himself, he has remained unequivocal in his response when it comes to the prospect of joining the tour in the Gulf State. Dashing speculation, he vowed to the Golf Channel. "I honestly don’t know how these things get started. I’ve never been offered a number from LIV. I’ve never contemplated going to LIV.

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"Again, I’ve made it clear over the last two years that I don’t think [LIV] is something for me. It doesn’t mean that I judge people that have went and played over there. I think one of the things that I’ve realised over the past two years is people can make their own decisions for whatever they think is best for themselves. Who are we to judge them for that?

He continued: "But personally, for me, my future is here on the PGA Tour and it’s never been any different … I will play on the PGA Tour for the rest of my career.”

As for whether the former Open champion feels stars who have stayed loyal to the American circuit should be remunerated better for their loyalty, with details expected to be confirmed this week, McIlroy added: "I mean, the simple answer is yes. The complex answer is how does that happen, right. And that's all, that's all a grey area and up in the air at the minute.

"But, yeah, there is, it's hard to, it's hard for me to not sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb and feeling like I've put myself out there and this is what happens. Again, removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf. There's no denying that. But for me as an individual, yeah, I, there's just going to have to be conversations that are had."

2024-04-24T09:04:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd