In his new worldview, Rory McIlroy has India on the mind

World number two Rory McIlroy has seen his seen his views on the game change more than once since the advent of the LIV Golf onslaught. Once the most ardent opponent of the Greg Norman-led parallel league, the Northern Irishman has gradually toned down his advocacy and now sees a future where top-tier golf travels around the world to newer and fresher audiences.

For decade, it was the US-centric PGA Tour that was the most dreamed-of destination for golfers around the world. The massive prize purses, high quality of golf on show, the legendary status of players like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, not to mention European imports Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo all combined to give the PGA Tour gold status in eyes of every aspiring golfer.

So when the LIV Golf threat rose on the horizon three years ago, McIlroy took on himself the role of the establishment’s attack dog. He was relentlessly critical – along with Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and a number of media luminaries – of the league, its funding, its founder-commissioner Norman, and even those players who had signed up on the LIV roster.

Monahan was the first to deal a blow to LIV Golf’s critics with his “framework agreement” arrived in secret with the breakaway league’s backers, the Saudi Arabian sovereign investment arm, Public Investment Fund which has opened a war chest of billions to support Norman’s quest for acceptance of his ideas and their execution.

Today, McIlroy sings a different tune. Having played and won around the world including Dubai, China, and Hong Kong, besides having played in Australia, Singapore, Japan and Korea, he now has a new destination in mind - India. LIV Golf has taken the game to several countries already and with a merger looming, talk of an overdue world tour is gaining ground.

Speaking ahead of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic where he shared 36th place after the opening round on Thursday, McIlroy said, “I spoke to Dr. (Pawan) Munjal (Hero MotoCorp CEO) on the course about it today," he said on the prospect of the top golfers going to India.

"You know, if this global tour somehow comes to fruition in the next few years, could you imagine bringing the best 70 or 80 golfers in the world to India for a tournament or, you

know, that - I think would change the game and the perception of the game in a country like that.

"There's so much opportunity out there to go global with it. Golf is at an inflection point, and if golf doesn't do it now, I fear that it will never do it and we'll sort of have this fractured landscape forever.”

As for him playing in India, he said he had been invited, adding, “But look, with how the golf calendar is at the minute - and that's the other thing that needs to be looked at. There are so many different golf tournaments that happen at different times, and it's going to be very hard for everything to piece together but it's a country that I've never been to and one that I would like to visit at some point in my life."

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is arguably the biggest golfing event in Asia with a legacy of 35 years and a purse of $9 million and the 34-year-old defending champion has been a long-standing fixture at the event with a stellar record including finishing in the top ten 11 times in 13 starts with three wins and a second and third placing once each.

“Yeah, it is. I feel like this tournament has been a sort of staple in my life for at least half of it. You know, I've been coming back to this tournament for 18 years, so over half my life. So yeah, wonderful memories of Dubai.

“I've always liked kicking my year off here. It's a familiar place for me, and it's a really good sort of stepping stone to the rest of the year,” added McIlroy, who also felt ‘unburdened’ after resigning from his position on the PGA Tour Policy Board. He said, “My focus is firmly back on stuff inside the ropes, and that is a really nice feeling."

The Indian challenge, as it has been since 2018, is Shubhankar Sharma currently T53 after round one, who these days also spends a lot of time practicing in Dubai. In six prior appearances, Sharma’s best has been T22 in 2021. “I have done well in Abu Dhabi the past two years and was close (Tied-2nd) in 2022. I am playing well, so hopefully I can turn it into a good show this week,” India’s lone regular on the European premier tour said.

Interestingly, Sharma sponsored a promising Indian junior Kartik Singh for the junior Desert Classic last week and the teenager finished second. Kartik won the junior Invitational event that Sharma supports in India.