https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/ [login to see] /pga-liv-golf-merger-what-next
For months, Rory McIlroy walked the ramparts of the PGA Tour fortress, besieged by the Saudi-funded LIV Golf. He and other holdouts spoke about staying true to the PGA's traditions, even as their peers accepted millions and millions of dollars in incentive money and guaranteed payouts to join its rival.
Now, McIlroy says, he feels like "a sacrificial lamb," after the PGA Tour made a deal to merge with LIV Golf's backers, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
That's not all he's feeling: McIlroy, ranked the world's No. 3, still sees LIV Golf as the enemy.
"I still hate LIV. Like, I hate it. I hope it goes away and I will fully expect that it does," he said.