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Rory McIlroy downplayed any rift with Tiger Woods amid reports they’ve disagreed on how to handle the ongoing shifts in the PGA Tour moving forward.
“No, there’s no strain there,” McIlroy told reporters Thursday. “I think we might see the future of golf a little bit differently, but I don’t think that should place any strain on a relationship or on a friendship.”
Joel Beall of Golf Digest reported the relationship between Woods and McIlroy had “soured” over the past six months as the PGA continues to negotiate a potential merger with LIV Golf. McIlroy stepped down from the player-director board in November, and his recent attempt to rejoin the board was rejected by players, including Woods.
“I put my hand up to help and it was, I wouldn’t say it was rejected, (but) it was a complicated process to get through to put me back on there,” McIlroy told reporters. “So that’s all fine, no hard feelings and we’ll all move on.”
The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf, have been in extended talks for an investment that would merge the two rival golf leagues. However, what was once seen as a sure thing has now become an increasingly prolonged process.
The PGA Tour also received up to $3 billion in financial investment from U.S.-backed private equity group SSG earlier this year. That backing added a little bit of a monkey wrench into proceedings with the PIF, which had been locked in as the PGA Tour’s main investor as part of its initial merger agreement.
There have been no details released on how Woods and McIlroy differ in their vision for the sport moving forward. McIlroy, once the loudest voice in the room against LIV Golf, now says it’s in the best interest of golf for the two sides to come together.
It’s possible Woods and some other players on the board feel differently in light of SSG’s investment.
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