Rory McIlroy says new 'super league' is a 'money grab' as PGA Tour threatens to ban rebels who sign up

Rory McIlroyReuters

McIlroy said he would not player in the Premier Golf League when it was first mooted in early 2020

By Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent

Rory McIlroy has described a billion dollar golf super league as a "money grab" and has backed the PGA Tour's threat to ban rebels who sign up to the proposed circuit.

Eleven leading players, including world number one Dustin Johnson and Britain's Olympic champion Justin Rose, have reportedly been offered contracts worth $30-$50m (£21.5-£36m) up front if they sign for the Saudi Arabia-backed project.

At a player meeting held on Tuesday, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan warned would be defectors of instant suspension and lifetime bans. It could also put their participation in this year's Ryder Cup in jeopardy, and has been heavily criticised by Amnesty International.

McIlroy, who chairs the Players Advisory Committee on the PGA Tour, fully supports the stance taken by the American circuit's boss. "You have to protect what you have," he said.

"It's a competitive threat. And Jay took us through it last night. It's in the by-laws that were written by the members."

The four-time major champion stressed that he favours the current set up for the men's game. "I don't think there's a better structure in place in golf, and I don't think there will be," McIlroy said.

"Go back to what happened last week in Europe with the European Super League in football," he added at a news conference before this week's Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.

"People can see it for what it is, which is a money grab, which is fine if what you're playing golf for is to make as much money as possible. Totally fine, then go and do that if that's what makes you happy.

"I'm playing this game to try to cement my place in history and my legacy and to win major championships and to win the biggest tournaments in the world."

McIlroy confirmed that he was first approached by organisers of the proposed grand prix style circuit in 2014. It was first mooted as 'Premier League Golf' but is now thought to be 'Super League Golf'.

US venture capitalists the Raine Group are thought to have backed out of the project but a Saudi team of negotiators have been courting many of golf's biggest names.

"Maybe the source of the money's changed or the people that are in charge have changed, but nothing has happened," McIlroy insisted. "No sponsorship deals, no media deals, no players have signed up, no manufacturers have signed up."

To fight off the threat of the insurgents, the PGA Tour bought into a strategic alliance with the European Tour which involved a $90m investment into the continental circuit's television arm.

In a statement on Wednesday, European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: "We are aligned with the PGA Tour in opposing, in the strongest possible terms, any proposal for an alternative golf league.

"Since the launch of our strategic alliance last November, our two organisations have been working together to make global golf less fractured and not create further division, with the interests of all players and fans at the forefront of our thinking."

American Justin Thomas, who won the PGA Tour's biggest event, the Players Championship, in March, says he is not aware of any approach from the super league.

"I don't know where it's going to go because everybody feels differently and everybody's in different places in their career," said the 28 year old.

"For me, I personally am about being number one in the world and winning as many majors as I can and winning as many tournaments as I can and doing historical things on the PGA Tour.

"If I was to go do that, then all those things go down the drain and I can't do that."

Despite the opposition voiced by the likes of McIlroy and Thomas there remain unanswered questions regarding the viability of the proposed rebel circuit.

They are considering a league featuring 40-48 players competing in an 18-event schedule with a season-ending team championship. It is aiming to start in September next year.

"The money is there," an agent reportedly told Golfweek. "I heard $1bn. This is real."

The Daily Telegraph reported that Phil Mickelson stands to gain $100m as a potential ring leader while others thought to have been approached include US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, and major winners such as Books Koepka, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson.

It is not known how the majors such as The Open, US Open, US PGA and Masters will react to a project that would revolutionise the set up of men's professional golf if it succeeds.

There are also implications for the sport's world rankings which help determine eligibility for elite events worldwide.

McIlroy remains sceptical the proposed project can ever get off the ground. "It's a complicated issue, but I just don't see at this point how it can get going," the Northern Irishman said.

"And the possibility is that people, if they do go in that direction, can't play in the biggest tournaments in the game? The game of golf, whether it's a right thing or a wrong thing, is so about history.

"We still talk about Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen and Ben Hogan and all those guys because that's what this game is. It's steeped in history and the legacies that those guys have.

"If you move further away from that, you're basically losing the essence of what competitive golf is."

Amnesty International spokesman Felix Jakens said Saudi Arabia - which has been criticised for its human rights record - is "sinking vast sums into sport as part of a strategy to 'rebrand' the country".

"It isn't just the similarity with the European Super League that may cause consternation among golf fans and the wider public, it's the fact that once again Saudi Arabia appears to be going full throttle with its sportswashing efforts," he said.

"Any golfer tempted by a lucrative Saudi-backed tournament ought to be ready to speak out about human rights."

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