With the media frenzy ahead of the PGA Championship, it was always likely that Rory McIlroy was going to face fresh questions over LIV Golf.
The contentious breakaway series, backed by the Saudi Arabian government, has led to a split down the middle of the men's golf world, and McIlroy has regularly been the loudest voice to speak up against the new tour.
McIlroy has clashed with several players involved in the series, most notably falling out once again with Patrick Reed en route to winning at the Dubai Desert Classic last year.
It has often been exhausting for the four-time major winner. His crusade against the breakaway tour was documented in Netflix's golf documentary Full Swing earlier this year, and he has come to be seen as a figurehead in the efforts to diminish the influence of LIV.
He appears to have drawn a line underneath all of that, however, if his comments ahead of the PGA Championship this weekend are anything to go by.
Rory McIlroy: Northern Irishman finished with LIV Golf narratives
This weekend's PGA Championship marks a natural point for the LIV Golf debate to reignite, with many of the tour's players competing at Oak Hill Country Club. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson deChambeau and Cameron Smith are all part of the field, meaning that the debate over LIV's place in the wider golfing world was always likely to resurface.
Rory McIlroy is one man who seems uninterested in renewing his crusade against the series.
In his press conference ahead of the tournament getting underway, McIlroy gave short, mostly one-word answers when questioned about LIV, before eventually confirming that he would mostly be trying to sidestep the debate going forward.
Rory McIlroy seems very done commenting on the LIV/PGA Tour battle.
Was asked today if he'll "sidestep that narrative" moving forward and gave a one-word answer: Yeah. pic.twitter.com/cS5jDUZqBo— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) May 16, 2023
McIlroy refused to be drawn into "crystal ball" debates about the future of the professional game, saying he did not want to speculate, before this exchange summed up his thoughts.
Reporter: "You mentioned earlier about not having a crystal ball; obviously we all asked you a lot of questions about LIV, and you've spoken yourself recently about the burden of that. Is it going to be a conscious thing for you going forward to try and sidestep that narrative?"
McIlroy: "Yeah."
It's unlikely the discussion of LIV Golf will dissipate as the weekend goes on, but it's clear where Rory McIlroy now stands.
McIlroy will hope to end his near-nine-year wait for a major championship this weekend, with his last victory coming at this tournament in 2014. That 2014 triumph saw him defeat now-LIV Golfer Phil Mickelson by one stroke, with another LIV man Henrik Stenson another shot further back.
Something similar to that triumph would no doubt be satisfying this weekend.
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