Rory McIlroy and his hopes for the future: “Unify the game and get the best players back together”

Rory McIlroy is heading to the Augusta National, as The Masters Tournament is fast approaching. It’s also fast approaching the day when negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) were supposed to have been settled. That has not happened, and with nine days to go before tee-off at Augusta National, few are expecting a last-minute surprise.

McIlroy has talked a lot about the issue over the past three months, and recently reiterated his thoughts in an interview for Golf Monthly. The Northern Irishman stressed his belief that “something has to happen” but that men’s professional golf cannot continue in its current state.

Here is part of what Rory McIlroy said:

“It’s certainly divided [male pro golf] and I think what the framework and June 6th tried to do was unify the game which ultimately needs to happen. We’re not there yet. We’re probably still quite a long ways from it, but I would hope that in the future that we can get there, unify the game and get the best players back together again.”

“There needs to be a correction. I think what’s happening is not sustainable right now, so something needs to happen to try to bring it all back together so we can all move forward so we don’t have this division that’s sort of ongoing. [It’s not sustainable for] fans, sponsors, media, players…I think the direction that both things are going right now, they keep going down those different paths and I just don’t see how that benefits anyone in the long run.”

For Rory McIlroy, the situation is as compromising from his own perspective as a competitor as it is from the fans’ perspective. He said:

“It sucks as a competitor that I only get to see and compete against some of those guys four times a year, because ultimately they do have some of the best players in the world that are playing some really good golf.”

“To not see the very best players in the world together more often I think is a shame for the overall game of golf and for fans that want to watch the pro game around the world.”

Rory McIlroy heading The Masters in 2024

Rory McIlroy began the 2024 season with a runner-up finish at the Dubai Invitational and a victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, both on the DP World Tour. He has played five events on the PGA Tour, and while he has made the cut in all of them, his best finish has been a T19 (The Players Championship).

Rory McIlroy has finished in the top 10 at The Masters seven times in the 15 editions in which he has played. His best finish was a solo runner up in 2022. A victory at Augusta National would make him just the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam (Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods). Bobby Jones achieved it when the British Amateur and US Amateur were still considered major championships along with The Open and the US Open).