"How dare he take that Arab money" - Fans react to Rory McIlroy committing to the inaugural edition of the Dubai Invitational

Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy has committed to competing in the inaugural edition of the Dubai Invitational. The new DP World Tour event is all set to take place from January 11 to January 14 at Dubai Creek Resort.

Rory McIlroy mostly competes on the PGA Tour. He has only played in three DP World Tour events this year, and will return to defend the Hero Dubai Desert Classic title in January 2024.

Recently, NUCLR Golf shared the news about McIlroy's new tournament on its X account with a caption saying:

"Rory McIlroy has committed to the inaugural edition of the Dubai Invitational, a new DP World Tour event being played at Dubai Creek Resort from Jan 11-14th. He’ll then defend at The Hero Dubai Desert Classic the following week Jan 18-21"

Fans flocked to the comments section, questioning how McIlroy was willing to take money from Arabs. One user commented:

"How dare he take that Arab money…."

Here are more fans' reactions:

Fans reactions (Image via X/@NUCLRGOLF)

Rory McIlroy has been an ardent supporter of the PGA Tour in its battle with LIV Golf. He publicly criticized players who joined LIV for money, which is funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.

Speaking about LIV Golf, McIlroy said during the first round of the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open that he would better retire than compete on the Saudi circuit. McIlroy said (via SI):

“If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on earth, I would retire. That’s how I feel about it. As long as I get to play golf, I'm happy. Quite a bit of apathy towards everything at the minute."

"There wasn’t’ a lot of new information in there for me. There was going to be some new information for other people. As I said, I’ve almost been too close the last year and a bit. So nice to be able to try to distance myself a bit," he added.

However, he is seemingly excited to play at the Dubai Invitational and released a statement saying:

“I’m really excited to start my year at the Dubai Invitational. I’ve always enjoyed coming back to Dubai to set up my season, and with a pro-am format, this tournament is going to be an enjoyable week."

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Rory McIlroy's performance in 2023

McIlroy has only played in three DP World Tour events in 2023. He started the new year with a victory at the 2023 Dubai Dessert Classic, and then played at the Horizon Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship.

Here are the results of all the tournaments Rory McIlroy played on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in 2023:

PGA Tour

• WM Phoenix Open: T32
• The Genesis Invitational: T29
• Arnold Palmer Invitational pres. by Mastercard: T2
• THE PLAYERS Championship: Missed Cut
• Masters Tournament: Missed Cut
• Wells Fargo Championship: T47
• PGA Championship: T7
• The Memorial Tournament pres. by Workday: T7
• RBC Canadian Open: T9
• U.S. Open: 2
• Travelers Championship: T7
• Genesis Scottish Open: 1
• The Open: T6
• FedEx St. Jude Championship: T3
• BMW Championship: 4
• TOUR Championship: 4

2022-23 DP World Tournaments

• Dubai Desert Classic: 1
• Horizon Irish Open: T16
• BMW PGA Championship: T7