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It has been an unusual year for everyone in golf, and that includes Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia. The two were good friends before Garcia defected to LIV Golf and became one of their loudest advocates. On the other hand, McIlroy became a spokesman for the PGA Tour in the rivalry and was not fond of anyone on the rebel tour.
The Spaniard Garcia and the Irish McIlroy spent a lot of time together as members of the European Ryder Cup team. They developed a close bond, one that appeared to have been shattered.
Now their relationship seems to be back on the mend. This could be related to the recent merger between PIF (LIV's sponsor) and the PGA Tour, which seems to have smoothed things over.
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Rory McIlroy reportedly said:
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is that I, you know, I got my friend back. And, and that’s, that’s what matters the most. I think that at the end of the day, the important thing is that we got together and talked–we were two friends that wanted to get back to that spot. Like I said, no doubt it was the saddest part of all of this, these friendships turning sour.”
Relationships were never the same after parts of them left for LIV Golf. With the opportunity to reapply for PGA Tour membership next year, things could look very different.
Fans on social media reacted to the rekindling of Garcia and McIlroy's friendship.
There have been a lot of lost relationships, despite what some golfers say. Perhaps the rekindling of this one between the Irishman and the Spaniard can serve as an example for others to reunite as well.
One Twitter user believes that true friendships should never be abandoned, and it appears that that's what McIlroy and Garcia did. These two being friends again proves their relationship was never truly dead.
With the relationship mending, one fan believes that McIlroy should eventually be the captain of the Ryder Cup team. He's been one of Team Europe's best and most vocal leaders, so the time is coming.
Others were frustrated that the media played a role in the dissolution of friendships. When the two tours began playing together in majors and other events, many of them said there was no bad blood, contrary to what reports suggested.
It has been a tumultuous last couple of years since the formation of LIV Golf. It appears that the game of golf is finally turning a corner and beginning to heal.
Rory McIlroy benefitted from incorrect ruling in US Open
McIlroy eventually lost by a stroke, so it didn't ultimately matter, but he was the beneficiary of an incorrect call at the US Open. The USGA’s chief governance officer, Thomas Pagel, said via Yahoo! Sports:
“The nearest point of relief was mis-identified; it should have been directly behind the ball. If there’s no area immediately behind the ball, you go to nearest point in the general area. But if you look at where the ball was embedded, there was a grassy area below and that should have been the starting point.”
Had he won the tournament or even gone to a playoff, this would be a major story. As it stands, it's an unfortunate mishap.
