Billy Horschel has spoken of his respect for Rory McIlroy in light of his dramatic LIV Golf U-turn. McIlroy was one of the most ardent critics of the Saudi-backed rebel tour which launched in 2022, plunging the sport into a civil war.
The Northern Irishman previously said he “hated” LIV and that he would retire "if LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on earth". In the middle of 2023, McIlroy was among the players shocked when a “framework agreement” was struck between LIV’s backers and the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, which paved the way for a potential merger.
Then, earlier this year, the four-time major winner backtracked on his opposition to LIV, “accepting” that the tour was “part of our sport now”. He even said he would be open to competing in a LIV-backed tournament.
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McIlroy’s change of stance has raised plenty of eyebrows across the game, but rival Horschel has applauded his honesty. The American, who dramatically defeated McIlroy in a play-off at the recent BMW PGA Championship, told Golf, by TourMiss: “Rory and I are pretty good friends. He’s sent me great messages in the past and I’ve done the same, so we’re good friends.
“The great thing also about Rory is that he’s always been pretty honest with everyone. He says things as he sees them and while he’s changed his mind about what is continuing in the bigger picture in men’s golf, I don’t fault him for it.
“So, I found myself applauding him for changing his views and listening to him. There is not many guys in the game of golf better than Rory.”
Meanwhile, McIlroy believes the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a 50-50 split between players on both sides pose the biggest obstacles to a final peace deal in golf as merger talks continue. McIlroy welcomed the optimism about finally agreeing a deal, which emerged from the latest discussions in New York last month.
However, he knows any such deal will be subject to scrutiny from the DOJ, which has already forced a non-solicitation clause to be removed from the original framework agreement. Asked what the biggest stumbling blocks to a deal were, McIlroy said: “Department of Justice. Maybe different interests from the players’ side.
“I’d say maybe half the players on LIV want the deal to get done, half probably don’t. I’d say it’s probably similar on the PGA Tour.
“Because just like anything, everyone’s looking out for themselves and their best interests. It would benefit some people for a deal not to get done, but it would obviously benefit some people for a deal to get done.”
