Shock alert! Rory McIlroy disagrees with PGA Tour stars ahead of the Players

Rory McIlroy urged PGA Tour stars to look at the big picture as he gave commissioner Jay Monahan his vote of confidence.

McIlroy was in good spirits ahead of the 50th edition of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

That was demonstrated when he was asked about Scottie Scheffler finally managing to hole some putts after months of misery on the greens. 

"I'm not going to give him any more advice, that's for sure," McIlroy joked to reporters in reference to urging the world number one to try a mallet.

Of course, the attention quickly shifted to the inevitable topic: the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. 

McIlroy's feelings, at this stage, are perfectly clear: "I want the train to speed up so we can get this thing over and done with."

The aforementioned Monahan spoke to the media on 12 March for the first time in more than six months.

During a 50-minute press conference, Monahan:

• Admitted he would have handled the PGA Tour-PIF announcement differently
• Claimed the Tour will be able to deliver a return on SSG's $1.5bn investment
• The Tour's negotiations with the PIF are 'accelerating' 
• Anthony Kim negotiations were held
• He believes he is the right man to lead the Tour forward

Related:

• Scottie Scheffler goes after (!) LIV players ahead of Players defence
• PGA Tour boss hesitates when asked if players really support him
• Xander Schauffele doubles down on previous PGA Tour claim

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McIlroy understandably has mixed feelings when it comes to Monahan. 

Over the last two years McIlroy led the charge against LIV Golf for the establishment. 

He was understandably enraged when the Tour announced on 6 June 2023 they planned to partner commercially with their once bitter rival. 

His fury was well-documented in the Netflix documentary Full Swing. 

McIlroy ultimately decided to resign from the policy board and was replaced by Jordan Spieth. 

Although he has stated that decision was down to wanting to simply focus on golf, it's clear the Ulsterman felt his voice wasn't being heard.

"It got the point where it felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall," McIlroy previously said of his decision to quit. 

McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday Monahan was right to be pilloried over his handling of the PIF announcement. 

"I think some of the reaction to June 6 was warranted," McIlroy said. 

"But I think at this point it's eight months ago, and we all need to move on.

"We all need to sort of move forward and try to bring the game back together."

So why does he believe Monahan is still the right man for the job?

"You look at what Jay has done since he took over," he said. 

"The media rights deal, navigating us through COVID, the strategic alliance with the DP World Tour.

"I would say creating PGA Tour Enterprises, we were just able to accept a billion and a half dollars in the business.

"People can nit-pick and say he didn't do this right or didn't do that right, but if you actually step back and look at the bigger picture, I think the PGA Tour is in a far stronger position than when Jay took over."

McIlroy's comments will be of interest to Xander Schauffele, who cast doubt on whether Monahan should remain in his post.

As far as Schauffele is concerned, Monahan still has his work cut out to regain players' trust. 

What do you make of McIlroy's latest comments?

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Read next:

• PGA Tour boss stares down reporter over Jon Rahm LIV Golf question
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• Jay Monahan gives update on "accelerating" PIF merger negotiations