Rory McIlroy believes Jon Rahm is wearing ‘rose-tinted glasses’ after the Spanish star claimed that men’s professional golf is currently in a ‘golden era’.
Despite finding themselves on opposite sides of the PGA Tour–LIV Golf divide, McIlroy and Rahm have been reunited this week, with both competing in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Rahm provided a positive assessment of the current sate of the game, in spite of the ongoing split across the two rival tours.
Rahm – who made a mega-money move to the LIV setup in December 2023 – said: “I think we’re living in a golden era right now for golf where the possibilities are endless. A big tour in Europe and worldwide and a massive tour, the PGA Tour, and you have another big product with live and now you’re even adding the TGL.
“When it comes to golf, the possibilities are there right now. I think with the right minds put together, you can end up with a product, and I’ve been saying this all along, that could put golf at a different level in the world of sport. I’m still hopeful that that can happen and whatever it looks like, it will look like whatever it looks like.
“But we are in that position nowadays to put golf in a higher level and I hope that happens.” McIlroy meanwhile is of a differing opinion, providing his input having found himself at the centre of the ongoing peace talks between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).
“Very rose-tined glasses if you ask me,” McIlroy said of Rahm’s stance in Dubai. “There’s amazing players, right. There’s amazing players that play in all different tours and parts of the world and everything, which is great. But at the same time, it’s become too fractured and too disjointed.
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go toThe Mirror US.
“I would share his optimism if the game wasn’t as disjointed and as fractured as it was. You know, maybe we’ll get to that point sometime in the near future, and if we do, then I would say, I would share that optimism.” Despite the split, McIlroy did admit there had been some positives within the sport over recent years.
Most notably, the 35-year-old pointed at the chance to grow the game globally and out from the hotbed of the United States. “I think what I would say is with everything that’s happened in the game over the past two or three years, I think what I maybe could envision is that the domination of the American side of things might come back a little bit in terms of, not that the game has never been global, but you know, sort of trying to build on the opportunities globally.
“So I think where we are, I think we are in a good position to try to grow that part of it.” On the golf course McIlroy is back at Emirates Golf Club to defend the title he won for a fourth time this time last year. The European star will begin his week in Thursday’s final round alongside two Ryder Cup teammates in Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland.
The latest news from the world of golf straight to your inbox
