Rory McIlroy Makes Ryder Cup Dig At LIV Golf's Henrik Stenson

Rory McIlroy is making up for lost time following his return to X (formerly Twitter) after initially quitting the social media platform in 2017. 

First, he pulled no punches in an extraordinary message on the subject of the golf ball rollback, and now he has taken a dig at LIV Golf player Henrik Stenson.

The Swede had been named the Team Europe Ryder Cup captain for this year’s match at Marco Simone, but was stripped of the role after he signed for the big-money circuit, with the position eventually going to Luke Donald.

That turned out to be an inspired move as the Englishman led the Europeans, which included McIlroy, to an emphatic 16.5 to 11.5 victory.

Following the win, McIlroy was among several of the 12-player team to back Donald to retain the captaincy at Bethpage Black in 2025. Last month, the four-time Major winner got his wish as it was announced that Donald would stay on in the role for the edition in the US.

After McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm joined Stenson at LIV Golf, the 34-year-old said the rules need to be rewritten to accommodate the Spaniard in the match two years from now. That inspired golf data guru Lou Stagner to ask on X: “I wonder if @McIlroyRory also wants to change the rules so Stenson can captain the team?”

McIlroy responded: “The best thing to happen to the 2023 Euro Ryder cup team was Henrik going to LIV!”

While McIlroy’s comments could be seen as much as an endorsement of Donald’s as a criticism of Stenson, it hasn’t gone down too well with a couple of the 2016 Open champion’s fellow LIV Golf players. 

Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter replied with “Guys calm down …. This is a parody fake account. Rory McIlroy wouldn’t say this. it’s fake I promise you. He is a class act and wouldn’t say that about a Team mate.”

Meanwhile, Poulter's Majesticks GC co-captain Lee Westwood wrote: “Nice to see the season of good will in full swing! Merry Christmas!!!”

McIlroy has been a long-standing critic of LIV Golf, and, after the 6 June announcement of a deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) behind the circuit, he said: “I still hate LIV,” before adding: “I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does."

If anything, following Rahm’s signing, the prospect of LIV Golf disappearing seems as remote as ever, and McIlroy appears to recognise that, saying in the aftermath of his move: “We need to get everyone back together and try to forget about what's happened in the past, let bygones be bygones and we all move forward together, and I think that's what's going to be the best thing for the professional game."

Despite that softer stance, McIlroy's dig serves as a reminder that, even with the PGA Tour and PIF in talks to end their rivalry, for the moment, at least, the top of the men's game remains divided.