Rory McIlroy has been on fire, on the golf course and off of it.
The PGA Tour golfer fired an opening round of 62 at the Travelers Championship on Thursday, just two weeks removed from winning the Canadian Open and a week after a very strong finish at the U.S. Open.
He’s also been extremely outspoken about his peers who have spurned the PGA Tour for greener pastures in the LIV Golf International Series, saying it’s “disappointing” to see “duplicitous” people flip-flop after getting offered a ton of money.
Thursday, McIlroy explained why he’s been so vocal in defense of the PGA Tour and against LIV Golf.
“I just think it so happens that the most protective of the PGA Tour are the best players in the world right now,” McIlroy said after his round. “I’m not going out to try to prove anything to anyone. I’m in a good run of form. I’m playing well.”
“Whether that gives me a little more confidence to speak up on certain issues, maybe,” McIlroy, a fierce critic of the new breakaway tour, added. “But I’m just going out there trying to play my game and trying to win some more tournaments.”
McIlroy added that he hopes recent changes to the PGA Tour and the financial incentives that have been added will make some people reconsider.
“There’s opportunities to make a lot of money out here but like everything always has been in golf, it has to be earned,” McIlroy added. “Some of these changes to the schedule and some of these increases in prize funds, I’m sure [will cause] some guys to maybe reconsider their decision.”
