If you love LIV drama, savor this week, because it may very well be the last of it. After LIV Indianapolis, which became league’s season-ending event after the original season-ending event was canceled, the future of the league looks murky at best. Even if LIV does soldier on with their top-secret new investor in tow, the prospect of stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm staying dwindles by the day.
Thankfully, the last stand of LIV Golf has provided more than enough sour grapes and soundbites to keep golf fans sated well into the fall. On Friday, that continued when Lee Westwood—long of one of LIV’s most, er, aggressive defenders—clapped back at Rory McIlroy’s recent comments about the value, or lack thereof, the return of players like DeChambeau and Rahm would bring to the PGA Tour. Here’s what Westy had to say.
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“I thought Scottie [Scheffler] answered the question well,” Westwood said. “Rory’s answer … was typical of Rory really. It wasn’t well thought out. There’s a lot of players on this tour who bring value to tournaments.”
Whatever you think of Westwood or McIlroy, it’s clear that both carry strong, and contrasting, emotions in regards LIV Golf. Due to the global nature of LIV and many of its stars, the league has always been a thornier topic for international players like McIlroy and Westwood than Americans like Scheffler. At LIV Golf’s onset, McIlroy was also positioned as the mouthpiece of PGA Tour. Some of that was seemingly at the behest of tour leadership, but McIlroy played his part, leaning into the role instead of away from it.
All of this, not to mention the historical rift between Ireland and England (ed note. McIlroy’s home of Northern Ireland is part of the UK), has produced enough upheaval to potentially fracture European golf for a generation to come. That’s great news for U.S. Ryder Cup fans and golf’s ambulance chasers, but the likes of McIlroy and Westwood may come to regret their words sooner than later.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
