“I knew there were conversations being had” - Rory McIlroy reveals the details of meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan in 2022

Rory McIlroy recently revealed his involvement in approaches between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). However, McIlroy was also surprised by the June 6 announcements, even though he knew there were "conversations being had."

McIlroy's statements as a guest on Sky Sports' "Stick to Football" podcast have sent the golf world into a spin. The Northern Irishman reminisced about the days of the announcement of the framework agreement between PIF and the PGA Tour and how the news was received by the players.

Here's part of what Rory McIlroy had to say about it to Stick to Football (via Today's Golfer):

"I knew that there were conversations being had, but I didn’t know that it would happen so quickly. Then obviously on June 6th, the framework agreement was announced – a lot of the players were angered by it because they were completely blindsided by it."

He further said:

"I knew it was a very intimate group of people [discussing the proposal] – it was the Commissioner of the PGA Tour, Yasir, and two board members... The PGA Tour were telling all their players that these are the bad guys, coming to take over our Tour, and then two months later, they did a deal with them!"

Rory McIlroy also told how before negotiations began between the PIF and the PGA Tour, he personally met with the PIF Governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and that this was related to a plan by the PGA Tour board. McIlroy said:

"I met Yasir Al-Rumayyan at the end of last year [2022] in Dubai and said, 'What do you want to do?' We had a good chat... When I got back to America at the start of 2023, I was on the board of the PGA Tour and told them that someone must talk to this guy."

"There was a plan put in place that one of the board members would try and develop a relationship with him, to see if we could try and figure something out and all move forward together."

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Rory McIlroy and his resignation from the PGA Tour Policy Board

In his words as a guest on "Stick to Football," Rory McIlroy also referred to his resignation from the Policy Board, which occurred a few weeks ago. The Northern Irishman said he resigned because it was a responsibility that demanded more time than he could devote to it.

In this regard, McIlroy added that the conflict between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has reached a point where several players from both sides do not want to share spaces with players from the opposite circuit. The Northern Irishman said that this atmosphere must be overcome, for the good of golf.

McIlroy did not rule out his eventual participation in LIV Golf. In fact, he said he would love it if that circuit became a sort of Indian Premier League (Cricket) and that, if so, playing there could be "fun" even with the team format.