Golf's rumor mill was churning once again on Monday afternoon after a long pause on the LIV Golf front. Rory McIlroy was rumored to be considering an $850 million offer from LIV directly following the conclusion of The Masters. McIlroy quickly addressed the media on Tuesday to deny the rumor and shut down any idea of him leaving the PGA Tour.
Exclusive: Rory McIlroy tells @ToddLewisGC that LIV Golf rumors are false and, "I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career." Tune into Golf Today at 5 p.m. EDT for more. pic.twitter.com/PIPAWMIWGh
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) April 16, 2024
Shortly after the McIlroy story, additional sources began leaking the idea that Viktor Hovland was the next big target for the Saudi-backed circuit.
The reigning FedEx Cup champion is one of the brightest stars on the Tour and has strong ties to European Ryder Cup team members such as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. Hovland would certainly be another big splash on the LIV tour, but again, a potential move has only been rumored — not substantiated.
It was rather quiet on the LIV front for several weeks until CEO Greg Norman showed up at Augusta's hallowed grounds for The Masters. Norman was denied entry to the club and purchased tickets on the secondary market to attend the event, which led to quite a few jeers from fans and players.
Freddie was surprised no one offered a Masters ticket to Greg Norman. pic.twitter.com/ZaE79VVx0y
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 13, 2024
All in all, LIV Golf has caused quite a stir once again, this time following the most iconic PGA Tour event of the year.
So where do we go from here?
It's no secret that LIV Golf has the money to contend with the PGA Tour, let alone take its stars at a whim. But in this case, it seems LIV is just trying to get its name back out there and stay relevant in the news cycle.
Over the next four months, professional golf's biggest events will take place with the Majors. LIV Golf needs to find a way to stay in the headlines, and rumors like the ones outlined above seem to be their plan of attack.
Touché; it's worked. But remember to not always believe what you read.
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