The Players: Rory McIlroy admits LIV Golf emergence has benefited PGA Tour and other pro golfers | Golf News

Rory McIlroy plays alongside Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler for the first two rounds of The Players at TPC Sawgrass, with all three having the chance to end the year as world No 1; Watch the opening round live on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf

Rory McIlroy has admitted that the emergence of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf has forced the PGA Tour into change and believes players will benefit from a new-look schedule next season.

LIV Golf launched last year with an eight-event schedule ahead of a 14-tournament league in 2023, with a host of major winners, Ryder Cup stalwarts and PGA Tour players joining the breakaway circuit.

The PGA Tour has responded by offering eight designated ‘no-cut’ events in its 2024 schedule, all with reduced 70-78 player fields and offering elevated purses and FedExCup points, with McIlroy impressed with the alterations to the golfing calendar.

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Ahead of The Players Championship, take a look at some standout stats at TPC Sawgrass and discover what it takes to win one of the toughest tournaments on the PGA Tour.

“I’m not going to sit here and lie; I think the emergence of LIV or the emergence of a competitor to the PGA Tour has benefited everyone that plays elite professional golf,” McIlroy said.

“I think when you’ve been the biggest golf league in the biggest market in the world for the last 60 years, there’s not a lot of incentive to innovate.

“This has caused a ton of innovation at the PGA Tour and what was quite, I would say, an antiquated system is being revamped to try to mirror where we’re at in the world in the 21st century with the media landscape.

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World number one Jon Rahm claims without LIV Golf the PGA Tour wouldn’t be making any changes to its structure and suggests that the tabled changes are very positive for players.

“The PGA Tour isn’t just competing with LIV Golf or other sports. It’s competing with Instagram and TikTok and everything else that’s trying to take eyeballs away from the PGA Tour as a product.

“Yeah, you know, LIV coming along, it’s definitely had a massive impact on the game, but I think everyone who’s a professional golfer is going to benefit from it going forward.”

McIlroy has regularly spoken out in support of traditional tours and is a member of the PGA Tour’s Players Advisory Council, although insists that off-course conversations haven’t hampered his own performance.

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Rory McIlroy claims some members of the PGA Tour are angry at changes announced last week, including limited invites to tournaments and no cut events, but says players are basing their opinions on limited information.

“I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job of trying to balance both of those things, McIlroy said. “I feel like over the past 12 months I’ve played pretty well, but at the same time, I’ve had all of this other stuff to deal with.

“I didn’t imagine it [joining PGA Tour board] would take up this much time, but I think it’s been important work. I’m proud of the steps that we and the PGA Tour have made to try to make everything better for the membership and try to stem the flow of players that have went to LIV.

“With these new changes that have been announced, hopefully the majority of my time will be spent on concentrating on getting ready for golf tournaments and trying to be the best player that I can be. Not that I feel like it’s taken away any of that, but it might give me a bit more free time to do other things that I enjoy.”

Defending champion Cameron Smith is among the LIV contingent missing the PGA Tour’s flagship event this week, with McIlroy admitting that the Australian’s absence is felt around TPC Sawgrass.

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Highlights of Cameron Smith’s winning round as he claimed a thrilling one-shot victory at the Players Championship last March

“Would it be better if the defending champion was here this week? Absolutely,” McIlroy explained. “But he made a decision that he felt was the best thing for him.

“He knew that decision was going to come with consequences, and one of the consequences is right now not being able to play on the PGA Tour.”

Watch The Players throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Tuesday with the ‘Live from The Players’ show at 2pm, while the opening round is live on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf!