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Rory McIlroy has been one of the PGA Tour's main advocates since the beginning of the LIV Golf-PGA Tour war. The Northern Irishman was part of the PGA Tour Policy Board, but a few months ago he decided to resign from such a position for personal reasons.
In that period, McIlroy often criticized LIV Golf, used various epithets, and emphasized that it was the last place he would play golf.
Despite his statements, some of his colleagues decided to take a different path and become part of LIV Golf.
In these moments, you could also feel the chaos within the PGA Tour. Namely, the leaders of this Tour were looking for alternatives and options to keep the best golfers.
It seems like there were some big mistakes made in the heat of the moment. One of the main issues is that the PGA Tour players weren't told about the deal between the PIF and the PGA Tour.
Because of this, many players changed their minds about the PGA Tour. Shortly after, Rory McIlroy also changed his views and admitted that he was wrong in criticizing LIV Golf.
Now, he thinks that LIV Golfers should be welcomed back warmly to the PGA Tour.
However, many of his fellow players don't agree. They think Rory should have stuck to his original opinions. Right now, it's hard to trust his opinion because of the big changes in what he's saying.
Most PGA Tour players agree on one thing: they are open to LIV Golfers coming back. The difference in opinions is about how the return should happen.
Many think that LIV Golfers should face challenges because they didn't show loyalty when it was really important. Eddie Pepperell, a famous golf player, shared his thoughts and wasn't happy with Rory McIlroy's new views during The Chipping Forecast podcast.
Pepperell thinks that Rory should have stayed true to his first opinions, and now, fans might not see Rory the same way.
"I think Rory has always been unpopular on one side and he's becoming increasingly unpopular on the other.
He is straddling this very fine line, Rory, with professional golfers and there's nothing wrong for standing up with what you believe in.
And a part of me wishes Rory would've just stuck to his guns. I really think that. And I get the other side to it [and] sometimes you just have to accept things and you might be wrong."- Eddie Pepperell said, as reported by golfmagic.com
Eddie Pepperell is a person who has nothing against an individual having his views and trying to act based on them.
McIlroy is one of the most important figures in the world of golf. His words have great meaning. It was because of this reason that he was a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board.
Probably the goal of the PGA Tour leaders, as well as Rory, was to use his words to prevent individuals from joining LIV Golf. But it seems that in the background there is a certain conflict between Rory and the PGA Tour leaders.
These are still just assumptions.
Pepperell hoped that McIlroy would not change his views, but unfortunately, he took a completely different path. It will be interesting to see what the future holds, and whether McIlroy will make any decision that could shock the entire golf scene!
"But if you really feel strongly about something there's nothing wrong with standing up for that.
You know, I wish Rory hadn't said what he said last week [at Pebble Beach] but that's just me [being a bit] of a purist I suppose."- Pepperell concluded.
Eddie Pepperell criticizes LIV Golf
A few months ago, Pepperell caused a lot of backlash by criticizing LIV Golf. Eddie was never a fan of this Tour, given the chaos they created with their arrival. In addition, Eddie believes that there is not too much quality at LIV Golf at the moment. Pepperell stressed that LIV Golf is far from a competition that will command the respect of fans.
"I tried, sincerely, I just tried to watch this and feel something genuine. Joy, inspiration, something. And I just cringed. It's just all cringe, the whole show, the teams, the individuals. Hate to shit on something, but honestly, it's just so far away from being compelling."- Pepperell said.
Soon after, LIV Golf fans criticized him for being jealous of what LIV Golf was doing. Pepperell again had a clear answer via social media.
"As always, the classic 'jealousy' comments come out when criticizing LIV. I've no reason to hate LIV or be jealous, if anything I've benefitted from it. I'm just observing like everyone else its obvious pitfalls. It had a chance to create something special and it hasn't."