Rory: 95 Per Cent Of The Talent Is On The PGA Tour

After hearing Phil Mickelson spout off about the PGA Tour trending downwards it was Rory McIlroy's turn to have his say.

The good news is that there's only one LIV Golf event left this season, in the sense that we can finally turn off the noise for a short while, and McIlroy made a pretty bold claim on the eve of the CJ Cup.

“I don’t agree with what Phil said last week,” McIlroy said. “I understand why he said it because of the position he’s in, but I don’t think anyone that takes a logical view of the game of golf can agree with what he said. We’re playing these events, we’re PGA Tour members, we’re sticking to the system that has traditionally been there. The guys that have went over to LIV… they’re the ones that have made the disruption. They’re the ones that have sort of put the golf world in flux right now.

“I guess for them to be talking the way they are, it’s bold and it’s, you know, I think there’s a ton of propaganda being used and all sorts of stuff.”

Even Jon Rahm, who shares an agency with Mickelson and is particularly pally with the left-hander, had difficulty in understanding his friend's point.

"Man, I love Phil but I don't know what he's talking about. I really don't know why he said that," explained the Spaniard.

Then came the really good stuff from McIlroy which is hard to argue with given there are so few players in the LIV world though that will surely change in the coming years.

“I certainly don’t see the PGA Tour trending downward at all. All the talent, most, 95 per cent of the talent is here. You’ve got people like Tom Kim coming through who that’s the future of our game.”

The press conference finished with Kim himself asking a question and McIlroy giving yet another stellar answer. You can watch their exchange here...

Great question. Better answer. 😁

Wholesome stuff between @JoohyungKim0621 and @McIlroyRory in today's press conference. pic.twitter.com/NxgxBTbKY3

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 19, 2022