Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed pairing? Leaf leaders? Dubai hot event

Eddie Pepperell, as he usually does, has nailed what’s on the horizon so well, with a touch of humor, all over the internet. His first round has ended in the Dubai Desert Classic, The Englishman shared on Twitter a game of thrones GIF — the one where an army on horseback gallops toward a sword-wielding Jon Snow — and he wrote this line:

“The way the leaderboard looks, Rory will be released on Monday.”

if you think The tee toss was a shout outYou’ll love what can come. And why is that? I advise:

– on the leaderboard of the Emirates Golf Club, Ian Poulter And Richard Bland Performed on Friday when play was stopped due to darkness. While the storms have delayed play on Thursday and Friday and have already forced Monday’s finish, seeing two players from LIV Golf atop the DP World Tour leaderboard, albeit by only a handful of holes in the second round, is a sight to behold. But there is more.

– Two from behind from the front Rory McIlroy, and this is something too. By now, you’re probably well aware of the LIV vs. PGA Tour, but here’s everything in a nutshell: the PGA Tour and Leaf golf Entering their second calendar year of a battle that saw LIV offer guaranteed money to Tour players, The round generates changes in responseaspects They sue each other – and McIlroy became the tour’s de facto spokesman. But there is more.

– Back to that tee toss. Tour LIV v. PGA is not without some fun. On Monday, we heard word that the LIV player Patrick Reid Approach McIlroy on the Emirates Airline scale, then We watched the video: Reed shook hands with Harry Diamond, McIlroy’s can; He pointed at McIlroy, only for McIlroy to appear not to be looking his way and Reed toss a LIV Golf tee in his direction — and on Wednesday, we heard the feedback. And on the leaderboard? McIroy and Reed only played 18 holes, but each shot a six-under. Match that up again on Saturday, and there’s a good chance they’ll both get to play together and get another shot at that handshake.

However, there is something else.

This whole thing on the LIV-PGA Tour is personal to McElroy. I inspired him. Let’s look at the scoreboard. Since mid-June, when LIV played its first event, McIlroy has won three events, including the Tour Championship; He finished in the season-long points race at the DP World Tour. And he’s back in World No. 1. Then there’s how the guy himself described it. Here’s an exchange he had with a reporter on Wednesday:

“Last year was a very political year for golf, and you were front and center in that. Do you feel like you gave the course what you did in spite of or because of what was going on?”

“I would say a little bit of both,” McIlroy said. “I would say there are parts of it because, and parts in spite of it. I think I’ve said a lot in the last year, and I wanted my actions to match my words.

“So there’s no point in being just a mouthpiece when you can’t back that up by playing good golf and showing the rewards people can get here if they play well. And it’s a meritocratic system. That’s the thing I’ve always struggled with: If a 5-year-old boy or girl knows they work hard and score, there is a merit-based system in golf all the way through beginner golf, amateur golf, all the way to the pro, and they can reach the highest levels of the game.

“And that’s the only thing that came up in the game that held that back, and you’re not sure — you’re not sure about playing in that league or that tour. It’s not a meritocratic system, which I think golf has always been like, and I always appreciate that.” in our game.”

As for comments after Friday? At his official press conference, Reed was asked how “proud” he was of the play “Teget”, and Reid only spoke about the golf course and being rusty last week. and Poulter, to me Golf Digest John HoganAsked if he had any extra incentive to win, the Englishman said: “I’m just here to play golf. I’m just thinking about playing well tomorrow, nothing else. Then we’ll go from there.”

We’ll end things with McIlroy.

At his official press conference, he was asked for his “biggest motivator”. It should be noted that McIlroy is also in battle with John Ram To keep his place at the top of the world rankings. During the final round in Dubai last year, McIlroy threw his second shot into the water on the 18th and missed a playoff with a shot, then tore his shirt. So there is this.

“Yeah, I mean, I can’t control what anyone else does,” said McIlroy. “Rambo has done an incredible feat – it’s an incredible start to the year, but it builds on what he did at the end of last year as well.

“I don’t really care about the rankings or anything. I’m just trying to get off to a good start to my year, trying to work on some things in my game and focus on myself. I still have some work to do like I said. I didn’t play well at all yesterday, so A bit of rest and some practice for the next 24 hours before I go out and play again tomorrow.”

And McIlroy also had this line, in the story he ran Golf Digest Dugan:

“You know I love four-rounders,” he said.

LIV, you may remember, only plays three.

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com editor

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit a golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native probably plays the game, hitting the ball left, right, and short, and drinking cold beer to wash his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beer – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.