Tour pro: I wish 'increasingly unpopular' Rory McIlroy stuck to his guns on LIV

English tour pro Eddie Pepperell says he wishes Rory McIlroy 'stuck to his guns' with his LIV Golf stance. 

The Northern Irishman, 34, has been at the centre of the PGA Tour-LIV story that has dominated men's professional golf since the beginning of 2022. 

McIlroy once led the charge against the Saudi-backed breakaway, firing frequent verbal shots at Greg Norman and his former Ryder Cup teammates.

The accepted view was McIlroy was fighting for something much larger than himself. He was a champion of history and legacy. 

McIlroy was a vocal critic of guaranteed prize money and appeared to view LIV Golf as an exhibition league. 

"If LIV was the last place to play on earth I'd retire," McIlroy said after the bombshell 6 June framework agreement announcement with LIV's backers. 

It was that announcement - essentially a deal to make a deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund - that prompted McIlroy's U-turn. 

McIlroy claimed he felt like the PGA Tour's 'sacrificial lamb' in light of the PIF announcement but his comments on Sky Sports' The Overlap suggested he was more in the know than it appeared.

The Ulsterman met with de facto LIV boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan months before the framework agreement was announced. 

 

 

 

 

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He implored Tour officials to open discussions with LIV/PIF after his secret meeting in which he asked the Saudi businessman: "What do you want?"

McIlroy has now resigned from his position on the PGA Tour's policy board, citing a desire to concentrate on just playing and achieving the career grand slam by winning the Masters. 

But it was clear McIlroy was not wielding enough power. "I felt like I was banging my head on a brick wall," he said of his decision to quit the role before the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. 

During that week McIlroy also stated there shouldn't be any penalties for LIV players if they wish to return to the PGA Tour. 

In other words, unification is the only pathway forward. The PIF should be involved the new, for-profit golf company PGA Tour Enterprises and a global schedule should be embraced. 

McIlroy even suggested he would be open to playing for LIV should the circuit turn into the IPL of golf. "That sounds like fun," he said. 

His stance has proven unpopular with his peers and the four-times major champion recently removed himself from a WhatsApp group chat after his 'frank' discussion with Jordan Spieth. 

Spieth replaced McIlroy on the Tour's policy board and it appears a potential Saudi investment is up in the air. 

What that means is we could expect golf's 'civil war' to continue. 

The aforementioned Pepperell opened up on this topic in the most recent edition of The Chipping Forecast. 

Pepperell, host Andrew Cotter and BBC reporter Iain Carter were discussing sportswashing and how this has taken a back seat since Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have joined the breakaway. 

Pepperell told The Chipping Forecast: "I think Rory has always been unpopular on one side and he's becoming increasingly unpopular on the other.

"He is straddling this very fine line, Rory, with professional golfers and there's nothing wrong for standing up with what you believe in. 

"And a part of me wishes Rory would've just stuck to his guns. I really think that. And I get the other side to it [and] sometimes you just have to accept things and you might be wrong.

"But if you really feel strongly about something there's nothing wrong with standing up for that. 

"You know, I wish Rory hadn't said what he said last week [at Pebble Beach] but that's just me [being a bit] of a purist I suppose."

Pepperell's comments were made after the PGA Tour struck a $3bn private equity deal with Strategic Sports Group. 

PGA Tour officials insist the deal will not a potential investment from the Saudi PIF down the line. 

Read more:

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• LIV Golf star Jon Rahm 'emotional' over missing PGA Tour events