Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, the world number two, welcomed the decision on Wednesday that the LIV, the Saudi-backed tour, has abandoned its "destroyer" stance and moved closer to "what everyone else is doing" by agreeing to expand its tournaments to four rounds instead of three, starting next season.
McIlroy, statements
"It brings them more in line with traditional golf tournaments, which is what we've all been doing. It takes them back to not really being a destroyer and, in a way, puts them more in line with what everyone else is doing. But if that's what they felt they had to do to earn ranking points, then that's what they had to do," McIlroy said.
The Northern Irish player addressed the measure introduced by the LIV in a press conference in Abu Dhabi, where the final phase of the DP World Tour begins this Thursday and will conclude next week in Dubai, also in the United Arab Emirates.
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The Saudi circuit was launched in 2022 with the innovative format of playing tournaments over 54 holes, instead of 72, and its introduction resulted in its players being excluded from the World Golf Ranking (OWGR), hindering their participation in major championships.
For McIlrory, the change in format for the LIV tournaments is "peculiar" because they could have regained their ranking by maintaining the three rounds. "I don't think three instead of four was what was holding them back," said this year's Masters champion.
He questioned whether the demand to regain points in the world rankings "will actually benefit them," given that many of the players enrolled in LIV "have already fallen in the rankings because they haven't had any points for so long."
"It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds," added the Northern Irishman regarding the aspirations of the Saudi circuit, which includes players like Spain's Jon Rahm and the United States' Bryson DeChambeau.
