When it comes to PGA and DP World Tour golfers speaking out against LIV Golf, few if any have been as vocal as Rory McIlroy.
From the breakaway series' inception in 2022, McIlroy has spoken vociferously against the league, which benefits from significant Saudi Arabian financial backing, as well as utilising several contentious format choices.
McIlroy has not been alone in criticising LIV - Tiger Woods, Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington, and more have all spoken out against golf's newest major player - but he has certainly garnered the most attention for his comments, given his position as one of the world's leading players and loudest voices.
Esteemed golf journalist Alan Shipnuck's new book 'LIV and Let Die: The Inside Story of the War Between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf' releases on October 17, and seems set to be a gripping account of the most controversial story in golf's modern history.
One excerpt shared on Wednesday raised eyebrows, as an anonymous ex-Ryder Cup teammate of Rory McIlroy went in on the Northern Irishman - an excerpt which has drawn the ire of American golfer Justin Thomas.
READ HERE: Saudi LIV Golf Boss Playing Dunhill Links Under Ridiculous Pseudonym
READ HERE: McIlroy And Lowry Felt Positive Impact Of LIV Rebels' Ryder Cup Absence
New LIV book contains contentious segment on Rory McIlroy
An explosive excerpt from Alan Shipnuck's upcoming book on the inception of LIV Golf featured an alleged ex-Ryder Cup teammate of Rory McIlroy's speaking anonymously about his fury at the portrayal of the four-time major champion.
Here’s one on Rory from @AlanShipnuck’s new book. pic.twitter.com/GMmc0gDmPU
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) October 4, 2023
The quote read:
F*ck Rory. I'm so sick of hearing about how he's some kind of hero who is saving golf. He's bought and paid for like everybody else, it's just that his money is coming from the other side....That he is being held up as some kind of savior on Twitter and by all the fanboys with their sh*tty podcasts tells you how little people really understand what's going on.
Naturally, the comments caused a stir, with responses ranging from sympathy with Rory McIlroy to speculation about who the mystery anonymous source could be.
Mere days after tasting defeat to McIlroy and Team Europe at the Ryder Cup, Justin Thomas responded to golf journalist Kyle Porter when Porter shared the excerpt. Thomas was furious with the story being widely circulated, and made his thoughts abundantly clear.
Thomas said he wished that writers and reporters would share more positive stories from the world of golf and said that he and many other tour players were "sick" of the reporting of Shipnuck and others:
I'd like to speak on behalf of a lot of Tour players and say we're sick of Alan Shipnuck doing what he does. Bring positivity and good stories to help grow the game of golf, not try and make money bashing guys, earning zero trust, with a lot of incorrect information. Ridiculous.
This is not the first time a rather public clash has played out involving Rory McIlroy and Alan Shipnuck.
After Europe's resounding victory at the 2018 Ryder Cup, McIlroy called out for Shipnuck at the press conference, after the American journalist had resoundingly written off the Europeans' chances of winning the tournament.
Earlier this year, anonymous quotes from a LIV Golf executive in an interview conducted by Shipnuck suggested that no LIV Golf players wanted McIlroy on their team, accusing the Irishman of being a "little bitch."
One would assume that the entire book of LIV and Let Die has plenty more reference to Rory McIlroy, given the subject matter, so we can't imagine this will be the last we hear of this story.
SEE ALSO: Reports On Cantlay's Wedding Guest List Temper Talk Of Team USA Harmony
