As the fallout from one of the craziest weeks the sport has ever seen continues, speculation is rife over what the future of golf will now look like.

• Related: Report: Despite rumblings of LIV’s demise, a meeting took place yesterday that tells a different story

Speaking during his hotly anticipated pre-tournament presser at the Canadian Open, Rory McIlroy made his thoughts clear, hoping the merger would now see LIV Golf vanish.

“I still hate LIV. I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does. And I think that’s where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF. Very different from LIV.”

However, per a report from Alan Shipnuck of the FirePit Collective, Rory may not get his wish.

According to Shipnuck, following the merger announcement, a meeting took place where Greg Norman addressed LIV employees and stated that there would be “no operational changes into the future.”

“Norman radiated confidence, saying that the 2024 LIV schedule was nearly finalized. “There will be no operational changes in 2023, 2024, 2025 and into the future,” he said. Then came the mic drop: ‘LIV is a stand-alone entity and will continue to be that moving forward. And that comes right from the top.’

Furthermore, a LIV executive told Shipnuck that every top name will now get a LIV offer but that McIlroy will be snubbed as “nobody wants that little bitch on their team.”

“Now we can finally get Hideki [Matsuyama] and Jon Rahm. I would say every big name on the PGA Tour will get an offer. Except Rory. Nobody wants that little bitch on their team.” 

What happens next remains to be seen, but it looks as if the wild and whacky drama is set to continue for quite some time.

More from the 19th Hole

After the shocking PGA Tour/DP World Tour/PIF merger, there was plenty of speculation that the deal would put an end to LIV Golf in the near future.

In the PGA Tour meeting Tuesday, commissioner Jay Monahan said “that a full review of LIV’s commercial viability would be conducted at season’s end”. Those who were in the meeting took that as a bad sign for the future of LIV, including Rory, who spoke about LIV in his press conference on Wednesday.

As for Rory McIlroy:

“I still hate LIV,” the four-time major winner said. “I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does. And I think that’s where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF. Very different from LIV.”

Despite the rumors of its demise, Alan Shipnuck of the Firepit Collective wrote on Thursday morning that the feeling after Greg Norman’s press conference with LIV employees that isn’t going anywhere.

Shipnuck, who’s had his ear to the ground for almost two years on everything LIV Golf, shared the feeling he got when watching the Norman-led meeting.

“By way of an opening, he said, ‘Congratulations, you changed golf, and you did it in less than a year.’ The employees on the call had taken huge professional risks to join LIV and were understandably jittery. Norman radiated confidence, saying that the 2024 LIV schedule was nearly finalized. “There will be no operational changes in 2023, 2024, 2025 and into the future,” he said. Then came the mic drop: ‘LIV is a stand-alone entity and will continue to be that moving forward. And that comes right from the top.’

The author of “LIV and Let Die” then explained who is really calling the shots in the world of golf going forward: Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

“The man at the top is not Monahan. Or Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods. Or the the lords of the Seminole grill room, Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy, who brokered the truce with LIV in their roles as PGA Tour board members. No, Norman was referring to the new boss of all of them, His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan. H.E., as he is referred to around LIV, is the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which can alter economies and disrupt industries with its $650 billion warchest. He is also the chairman of the board of Aramco, the state oil company, making H.E. easily the most powerful person in the world who is not a head of state. His latest title is chairman of the board of the new PIF-Tour entity.”

“That means Monahan reports to him”.

Per Shipnuck, a high ranking LIV executive describes LIV as “Al-Rumayyan’s baby” and find it hard to believe he would let it disintegrate so quickly after how much effort he put into the venture.

“What people fail to understand is that LIV is H.E.’s baby,” said the LIV executive. “He has poured his heart into its creation.” This included numerous meetings in which Al-Rumayyan fussed over every detail, down to the look of the LIV logo.”

“We all went into the call with our heads hanging low, feeling so defeated,” says the LIV executive. “Then it became like in The Wolf Of Wall Street when Leonardo DiCaprio gives that speech and the whole room goes crazy. When His Excellency finished speaking we were all high-5’ing. It was like, Let’s fucking go! We’re gonna fucking do this!”

Time will tell how it will play out, but as Shipnuck describes, the future of golf is in the hands of Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

More from the 19th Hole

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