LEE WESTWOOD HAS said that Rory McIlroy’s comments about LIV players potentially returning to the PGA are “typical” of the back-to-back Masters champion.
McIlroy has always been an outspoken opponent of LIV, and said this week that he questions the value that players have brought to the controversial Saudi-backed tour.
He also said that competing at PGA events again would be a “tough road back” as speculation mounts about the long-term future of LIV.
“Typical of Rory. It wasn’t well thought out.” 👀
Lee Westwood responds after Rory McIlroy questioned the value LIV Golf players have brought to the tour. pic.twitter.com/sR7kyQMvr5
Westwood will return to the DP World Tour in October at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and is one of many LIV Golf players to receive an invitation from a sponsor.
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“I really don’t care what people think to be perfectly honest,” Westwood told TNT Sports when asked about the criticism towards LIV players.
“I think it illustrates the fact that people like LIV players playing in their events. Promoters and sponsors, no matter which tour they’re on, they bring quality to tournaments.
“I thought Scottie [Scheffler] answered the question well and Rory’s answer was just typical of Rory. It wasn’t well-thought-out. There’s a lot of players on this tour [who] bring value to tournaments and the Alfred Dunhill is a point in question where I think Johann Rupert’s got something like 26, 27 invites and I think 25 people off LIV have got invites.
“That just shows that LIV players do bring value to tournaments.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler had offered a more diplomatic answer when asked earlier this week about the possibility of LIV stars returning to the PGA fold.
“When you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf, there’s definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the Tour,” he said.
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'Typical of Rory' - Lee Westwood hits back at Rory McIlroy comments about LIV players
LEE WESTWOOD HAS said that Rory McIlroy’s comments about LIV players potentially returning to the PGA are “typical” of the back-to-back Masters champion.
McIlroy has always been an outspoken opponent of LIV, and said this week that he questions the value that players have brought to the controversial Saudi-backed tour.
He also said that competing at PGA events again would be a “tough road back” as speculation mounts about the long-term future of LIV.
Westwood will return to the DP World Tour in October at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and is one of many LIV Golf players to receive an invitation from a sponsor.
“I really don’t care what people think to be perfectly honest,” Westwood told TNT Sports when asked about the criticism towards LIV players.
“I think it illustrates the fact that people like LIV players playing in their events. Promoters and sponsors, no matter which tour they’re on, they bring quality to tournaments.
“I thought Scottie [Scheffler] answered the question well and Rory’s answer was just typical of Rory. It wasn’t well-thought-out. There’s a lot of players on this tour [who] bring value to tournaments and the Alfred Dunhill is a point in question where I think Johann Rupert’s got something like 26, 27 invites and I think 25 people off LIV have got invites.
“That just shows that LIV players do bring value to tournaments.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler had offered a more diplomatic answer when asked earlier this week about the possibility of LIV stars returning to the PGA fold.
“When you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf, there’s definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the Tour,” he said.
Additional reporting by – © AFP 2026
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