LIV and let die.
The golf world was rocked on Tuesday, when the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour opted to put aside any beef and ultimately merged into one golf world power.
That hasn't pleased many PGA Tour players, including Rory McIlroy, who has been the de facto face of the PGA Tour throughout the saga. McIlroy hasn't had many pleasantries for the new golf series over the last year,
MORE: PGA Tour-LIV Golf mergers winners and losers — What does PGA Tour stand to gain?
On Wednesday, McIlroy made it clear that he still has no love for the rival golf tour, saying that he hopes LIV just "goes away."
"I still hate LIV, I hope it goes away"
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 7, 2023
Rory McIlroy says the merger between PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf 'is not LIV'...pic.twitter.com/5Vivcz1Kbz
"But it's not LIV, I think that's the thing — I still hate LIV, I hate LIV, like, I hope it goes away," McIlroy said Wednesday. "I would fully expect that it does. And I think that's where there the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF — very different from LIV.
"All I've tried to do is protect what the PGA Tour is and the PGA Tour stands for, and I think it will continue to do that. So, look, going forward I hope that — there may be a team element, and you're going to see, maybe, maybe, maybe, whoever else play in some sort of team golf, but I don't think it'll look anything how LIV has looked. And I think that's a good thing."
MORE: Everything you need to know about the LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger
McIlroy has been pretty consistent over the last year that he has no love for LIV Golf, but would be OK with a bigger pipeline of cash heading towards the PGA Tour. That's something he echoed on Wednesday, saying that Saudi Public Investment Fund's money would secure the sport's "financial future."
"At the end of the day, money talks, and you'd rather have them (the PIF) as a partner."
