Rory McIlroy disagreed with Jon Rahm’s view that men’s golf is in a “golden age”.
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Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm don’t quite see the broken state of men’s golf.
Both stars, who are duking it out at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic this week, recently gave their assessment of the pro game as we begin the 2025 season with a potential PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger still pending.
Rahm admitted he thought things would be “further along” by now, but the two-time major winner is still optimistic about where the pro game stands.
“I think we’re living in a golden age right now for golf where the possibilities are endless,” Rahm said Tuesday in Dubai. “A big tour in Europe and around the world and a massive tour, the PGA Tour, and you have another big product with LIV, and now you’re adding TGL. When it comes to golf, the opportunities are there now.
“I think with the right minds put together, you can end up with a product, and I’ve said this all along, that can put golf on the next level in the world of sports. I still hope it can happen.”
On Wednesday, McIlroy responded to Rahm’s “golden era” claim with a more realistic view. The four-time major winner understands Rahm’s point, but thinks the game’s current problems are much bigger than talent and growth.
“Pretty rose-colored glasses if you ask me,” McIlroy said Wednesday of Rahm’s comments.
McIlroy added that he hopes the upheaval of the past few years will lead to more opportunities to grow the professional game globally. But McIlroy can’t look past the broken nature of the pro game. In McIlroy’s eyes, the game needs to come together to ensure a positive outlook.
“There are great players, aren’t there,” McIlroy said. “There are great players playing in all the tournaments and different parts of the world and everything, which is fantastic. But at the same time, it has become very broken and very disconnected.
“I would share his optimism if the game wasn’t as disjointed and as broken as it is. We will probably get to that point sometime in the near future, and if we do, then I would say, I would share that optimism.”
Rightfully so, McIlroy was asked moments later about fellow Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, whom McIlroy considers a friend and protégé, potentially jumping into LIV Golf to join Rahm’s team.
McIlroy gave a three minute answer in which his disappointment was evident.
“I really like Tom as a person, as a player,” McIlroy said. “I think he has a ton of potential. Look, I said, if I were you, I’d make a different choice than what you’re thinking of making.
“I think what he’s potentially sacrificing and giving up access to the majors, the potential Ryder Cup berth, depending on, you know, how he plays. … Look, I don’t think anything is official yet. But if I was in his position and had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision. But I’m not him. I am not in his shoes. He is a grown man at this point and can make his own decisions. All I can do is try to give him my perspective.”
McIlroy hopes McKibbin, who has yet to make a decision publicly, will decline the offer to move to LIV and continue his golfing ascent on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. In McIlroy’s view, a move to LIV has far too many negatives for a rising star like McKibbin.
“It would be a little disappointing if it happened, but again, it’s not – I made it absolutely clear: I’m not going to stand in your way if you need to make the decision you feel you need to make for yourself,” he said. McIlroy. “But at the same time, I feel like he’s giving up a lot to not gain as much.”
