Jordan Spieth Breaks Silence on Feud Rumors With Rory McIlroy; Reveals the 7-Word Reality Behind Tense ‘Rules Drama’

For the past few days, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth’s relationship has seemed to be in a squabble. The pair first disagreed about whether PIF should be a future partner of the PGA Tour or not, and then more recently, the two were involved in a heated discussion over the ball drop at THE PLAYERS Championship’s first round.

Spieth and Viktor Hovland were involved in a long, 8-minute discussion as they tried to find the correct position for McIlroy to drop. Soon after, the Northern Irishman carded a double bogey on the hole. The incident raised many questions about the sour blood between the pair. And while both had been silent about it till now, Jordan Spieth has finally opened up, clearing the air surrounding ‘Drop Gate’.

Jordan Spieth confirms there’s no bad blood between him and Rory McIlroy

On Thursday, at par-4 hole no. 7, Rory McIlroy was trying to determine alongside Viktor Hovlandwhether his ball crossed the red hazard line. Spieth, the third player in that marquee group, eventually chimed in with his opinion when the discussion began to heat up. Speculations soon after arose that the 3-time major winner had taken a decision that the Northern Irishman did not agree with, and therein began the rumors. However, as per the American pro’s latest comments, they were exactly as mentioned—rumors!

After finishing the second round, where he missed the cut, Spieth opened up about the viral incident. He clarified that he “was good with the spot” where McIlroy was placing the ball and had headed over to check if all was going well or whether there was some ‘rules drama’. “I thought it ended up in a good spot. I only walked over there because I thought he had dropped it, and then he [McIlroy] was questioning where he was dropping it,” he stated, putting a halt to the rumor mill. “So I was just trying to make sure he didn’t play it and everyone was good.”

Furthermore, the 30-year-old shared that they had similar discussions “a dozen times” within the group. So, when Hovland and McIlroy were conversing, Spieth was only checking in and only chimed in to try and move things along. “I wasn’t even planning on getting involved, and maybe I shouldn’t have, but it seemed like they were maybe at a sticking point. So I thought maybe I could help.”

While Viktor Hovland, of course, has yet to share his point of view on the matter, Spieth’s words made one thing clear: McIlroy and he had no bad blood. And on the note of putting an end to rumors, he ended yet another in his interview, that of whether the PGATour player directors were meeting for a discussion on the PIF merger soon after the event!

Earlier today, Golfweek reported that the Players Advisory Council’s Player Directors were being encouraged to meet with PIF director Yasir Al-Rumayyan to speed up the PGA Tour and PIF’s merger agreement. And now Spieth, who’s one of the player directors, has confirmed it! “We’re being encouraged to potentially meet with them,” he said after the round.

Spieth, who himself has been very nonchalant about the merger since the Tour tied up with SSG, did not confirm if the meeting was a certainty or whether the likes of Tiger Woods or even Yasir Al-Rumayyan himself would be present.

Even if the meeting does occur, the minutes will undoubtedly be tried and kept hush-hush, at least till some more clarity is found on the merger. And one can only hope that it is sooner rather than later!