MEXICO CITY — Rory McIlroy became the first top player to publicly reject the idea of a proposed new tour, saying he values his choice of where to play over whatever money the Premier Golf League is promising.
“I would like to be on the right side of history on this one,” McIlroy said Wednesday at the Mexico Championship.
McIlroy, the No. 1 player in the world, said the only thing that could change his mind were if all the top players decided to join, and he doesn’t see that happening.
“I think it’s very split at the moment,” he said.
Talk of a Premier Golf League has been around for about six years and picked up momentum — along with serious funding, primarily from Saudi Arabia — in recent months. Organizers have been talking to players and agents the past few months in the Bahamas, Australia and last week in Los Angeles.
Phil Mickelson, who played with officials involved during the pro-am in the Saudi International last month, said Sunday he was not ready to announce his intentions but might be ready to state his view publicly by The Players Championship.
Tiger Woods has said only that he and his people were looking into it.
The idea of the Premier Golf League is to invigorate golf by putting together 12 four-man teams that would be required to play 18 events — 10 of them in the U.S. — that feature 54 holes, no cut and a shotgun start to fit a five-hour broadcast window. Total prize money would be $240 million, and the top player could earn as much as $50 million.
McIlroy said money is “cheap.”
“Money is the easy part,” McIlroy said. “It shouldn’t be the driving factor. Look, for some people it is. And we’re professional golfers and we’re out here playing golf to make a living. But at the end of the day, I value my freedom and my autonomy over everything else.”
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to players last month that effectively said that because the tour has contracts with title sponsors for a full schedule and television partners, anyone joining the Premier Golf League would have to give up their PGA Tour memberships.
The Premier Golf League’s schedule would not include the majors. And still to be determined is if the Official World Golf Ranking board — represented by major tours and golf organizations — would allow the league to get ranking points. The world ranking is used to help determine the field for majors.
For someone like Woods — the biggest draw in golf — to play in the new league, he might be required to play as often as 22 times a year if the league has an 18-tournament schedule.
“Tiger is 44. He’s got two young kids,” McIlroy said. “He openly said last week he wants to play 12 times a year, so this league is proposing 18. So he’s not going to do it.”
Other players have said they studying proposals, though none has announced a decision.
“I don’t really stand anywhere,” Dustin Johnson said. “Right now, I’m playing on the PGA Tour. But a lot would have to happen for that to change. Like Rory said, if there was a situation where I felt like I had to play, then I would. But for right now, I’m playing on the PGA Tour.”