The world number 1 Rory McIlroy, one of the most critical players with his colleagues who went to LIV Golf (Arab Super League), returns to the DP World Tour (European Tour) in Dubai with new airs and old quarrels that he does not forget, quite the opposite . Mentally exhausted at the end of last year and content to “take some time off and try to get some distance from golf”, the Brit is back and a warrior like never before.
Rory McIlory, statements
McIlroy was on the driving range at the Dubai Desert Classic when he was approached by Patrick Reed, one of the high-profile players to have joined the Saudi-backed League that changed the face of golf in 2022, and said he was “busy practicing” to ignore an attempted approach in the form of a greeting from Patrick Reed.
“Patrick came over to say hello and I didn’t really realize he was there,” McIlroy told the newsroom. The four-time major winner said he didn’t see or feel anything. “But apparently that’s what happened,” McIlroy said. In the background there is a lawsuit in between. Reed’s attorneys served McIlroy with a subpoena on Christmas Eve. He did not provide details about the subpoena, but Reed filed a defamation suit again last month. And McIlroy is clearly in no mood for reconciliations in Dubai. “Of course, trying to have a good time with my family and having someone show up at your door and deliver that to you, you don’t take it well,” Rory told reporters. “So again, I live in reality, I don’t know where he lives. If I were in his place, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.”
McIlroy was also asked if it would be beneficial to “fix his relationship” with another LIV rebel, Sergio Garcia, if it would help Europe’s cause ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome. “No”, was the forceful response of the Northern Irishman.
The toll that McIlroy took for effectively being an anti-LIV spokesperson did not prevent him from returning to the top of the world rankings late last year. His last competitive tournament was the DP World Tour Championship, also held in Dubai, in November. McIlroy has won this tournament twice – in 2009, which was his first professional title at age 19, and in 2015 – and he enjoys coming to this part of the world. “I’ve been coming here a long time, seventeen years,” he said. “I feel comfortable here. I like to start the year here. I have many friends. I have called this place home for four years,” said the Briton.
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