Rory McIlroy may have doubled down on his "hate" for LIV Golf following the shock merger of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), but the world No.3 has praised the Kingdom's money man.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the director of the PIF which owns LIV and Newcastle United, will sit on the board of the new entity that will run professional golf, alongside PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and policy board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy – leaving LIV commissioner Greg Norman locked out from the top table in the sport.
The future of the professional game remains uncertain with so many details of the merger still to be thrashed out, with huge question marks over whether LIV will continue beyond the end of its second season this year. But speaking at the Canadian Open in Toronto, where McIlroy is in contention for a third straight title, sitting two shots off the lead going into the final day, the Northern Irishman gave his verdict on the PGA Tour's new bankroller.
"He's a very impressive man," McIlroy said. "Harvard Business School, runs 700 or 800 billions worth of dollars, and invested in a ton of different companies. He's a very smart, impressive man.
"I know Yasir. So I played a pro-am with Yasir in Dubai a few years ago. And then I've seen him, I was with him at a Formula 1 race randomly a couple of years ago in Austin. I saw him in Dubai at the end of last year. He sort of, he runs in the same circles as a lot of people that I know."
McIlroy has staunchly opposed LIV since it launched in 2022 and he reiterated in Toronto before teeing it up at Oakdale Golf & Country Club that he hopes the Saudi-backed tour "goes away". But he says he has accepted the fact that major Saudi investment in sport is inevitable and he would rather have them as allies than "enemies".
"I've come to terms with it," McIlroy added. "I see what's happened in other sports. I see what's happened in other businesses. And, honestly, I've just resigned myself to the fact that this is what's going to happen. Whether you like it or not, the PIF were going to keep spending the money in golf. At least the PGA Tour now controls how that money is spent.
"So, you know, if you're thinking about one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy? At the end of the day, money talks and you would rather have them as a partner."
McIlroy is tied for second at 12-under-par going into the final round at Oakdale, two shots behind leader CT Pan of Taiwan. Englishmen Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are also in contention after 54 holes.
