Rory McIlroy has remained candid and forthright in his views on the fierce civil war that has shaken golf to its core, but not everyone affiliated to the sport's traditional ecosystem is in support of the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy' s stunning rise back to world No.1 has perhaps been fuelled by the emergence of the contentious Saudi-backed LIV Golf series that has majorly disrupted the status quo. The 33-year-old is an ardent backer of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, and has no time for Greg Norman's contentious rival invitational tour that has used guaranteed Saudi millions to attract some of the game's biggest stars.
The LIV venture has rolled into Donald Trump's Doral resort in Miami for its final stop of the year this weekend, but the fledging series has major plans to grow further despite consternation from those who have sided with the PGA and DP World tours.
Perhaps McIlroy's biggest frustration is the LIV rebels who are his former Ryder Cup teammates, whom he believes have jeopardised an opportunity to compete in the prestigious biennial joust by turning their back on the traditional system.
Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell all established strong bonds with McIlory in Ryder Cups, but he has now admitted feeling 'betrayed' after they risked never being involved with the European team again in order to defect to the LIV series.
“I think it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal, in a way," McIlroy said in a recent Guardian interview. It’s an unfamiliar feeling to me. You build bonds with these people through Ryder Cups and other things. Them knowing that what they are about to do is going to jeopardise them from being a part of that ever again?
“I would like to think the Ryder Cup means as much to them as it does to me. Maybe it does. But knowing what the consequences could be, I just could never make that decision. OK, it might not be 100% certain but that it could be the outcome? It just isn’t a move I would be willing to make. I thought they felt the same way."
However, while McIlroy has a new found status as the PGA Tour's unofficial spokesperson, he does not have everyone on side. Charlie Beljan, a former winner on the American tour, has called McIlroy a 'cry baby' for expressing his feeling of betrayal.
Beljan, who played just one qualifying event this year and is tied bottom of the world rankings in 2,815th, replied to a Facebook post by golf outlet Bunkered referring to McIlroy's comments.
"The biggest cry baby fo sure," Beljan said. The American's last tour victory was a decade ago and it is fair to say that his voice does not carry the same weight as McIlory's in golf's ongoing civil war. Unperturbed by his critics and LIV supporters, the new No.1 is not expected to curb his honesty when discussing the issues that dictate the future of the sport.
