Reluctant To Participate In The LIV Invitational Series In London Despite The IDR 361 Billion Prize, Golfer Rory McIlroy: Money Is Not Everything

Rory McIlroy (Instagram @rorymcilroy)

JAKARTA - Former world number one Rory McIlroy has warned his fellow golfers about the dangers of putting "money" above all else by breaking away from the PGA Tour to play in the LIV Invitational Series.

Reported by Antara from Golf Australia, Thursday, McIlroy is a golfer who chose not to take part in the inaugural LIV Invitational Series at the Centurion Club, London, England, 9-11 June.

He will continue his career on the PGA Tour and is closest to defending his title at the June 6-12 RBC Canadian Open which has been inactive for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RBC has ended its sponsorship of Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell choosing to appear in the LIV Invitational Series, a new event funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Even so, McIlroy was reluctant to criticize the choice of golfers who decided to appear at LIV. "I think my attitude was clear from the start," said the golfer from Northern Ireland.

"This is not something I want to follow. I also certainly don't encourage anyone to leave. It's their life and their decision. They can live as they want," he added.

For McIlroy, playing on the PGA Tour against the best golfers in the world is even more exciting.

"I think to me every decision you make in life that is purely for money, usually doesn't end up going the right way. Obviously, money is the deciding factor in a lot of things in this world, but if it's purely for money, it never seems to work out that way." what you want," McIlroy said.

He also mentioned the large participation money in LIV compared to the prizes won during the match on the PGA Tour.

"We all know why everyone is playing in London this week. A lot of money and money up front. For some people, I totally understand," said McIlroy.

"I think they think short term. Some of them are younger than me and have a whole career ahead of them. That's something I don't understand."

The world's top golfers have decided to withdraw from the PGA Tour and choose to appear in the inaugural LIV Invitational Series.

For example, former world number one golfer Dustin Johnson. LIV Golf's lucrative prize money has attracted other major title winners such as Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen.

LIV Invitational Series in London is indeed tantalizing. This event is for a prize of 25 million US dollars (approximately Rp361 billion), including 4 million US dollars (approximately Rp57 billion) for the winner and a guarantee of 120 thousand US dollars (1.7 billion rupiah) for golfers.

This is a fantastic figure when compared to the prize for the winner of the 2021 US Open, which is 2.5 million dollars (around Rp. 36 billion) and last year's Open Championship, which is worth 2 million US dollars (around Rp. 28.9 billion).