Will Rory's Stance Torpedo The Premier Golf League?
/Rory McIlroy’s strong stance against the proposed Premier Golf League looks like a blow to what has been a steady upward trajectory for the upstart rival tour.
However, given that it took nearly a month for a player to definitively declare against it since the league became public knowledge, and coupled Tiger Woods’ assertion last week that proposals like this will keep happening, I’m not sure the folks behind the PGL are hitting delete on their decks just yet.
Here are all of Rory’s comments, as reported by ESPN.com’s Bob Harig, starting with his assertion that he would lose independence going to the structure proposed.
"The more I've thought about it, the more I don't like it,'' McIlroy said at Chapultepec Golf Club, site of this week's WGC-Mexico Championship.
"The one thing as a professional golfer in my position that I value is the fact that I have autonomy and freedom over everything I do," he said. "I pick and choose -- this is a perfect example.
"Some guys this week made the choice not to come to Mexico. If you go and play this other golf league, you're not going to have that choice. I read a thing the other day where it said if you take the money they can tell you what to do. And I think that's my thing, I've never been one for being told what to do, and I like to have that autonomy and freedom over my career, and I feel like I would give that up by going to play this other league.”
Ironic that McIlroy cites a World Golf Championships week, with notable player defections, as an example of the freedom he cherishes. Particularly given that these weeks were designed to prevent an upstart world tour by bringing top players together more often and assuring sponsors of stars convening.
Anyway…
"For me, I'm out. My position is I'm against it until there may come a day that I can't be against it. If everyone else goes, I might not have a choice, but at this point, I don't like what they're proposing.''
And McIlroy didn't see that happening.
"I think it is very split at the moment,'' he said.
Given the strength of the professional game in so many ways, it’s fairly stunning that there is even a split in the first place. And that split seems bound to force significant changes, regardless of the PGL’s fate.
In looking at McIlroy’s comments more closely, it’s no coincidence his stance comes after a wonderful week at a historic tournament and venue, with the revitalized Florida swing looming. So it’s nice to see a sentimental player still exists.
However, that McIlroy also opened the door to joining a mass exodus, hardly makes his stance fatal.
Now, if Tiger reiterated what McIlroy said about the Premier Golf League? That’s a different story.
