'Shut up about LIV': Rory McIlroy details heated exchange with Sergio Garcia

Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia were once the best of friends. From idolising him as a teenager to successfully pairing together in several Ryder Cups, the pair struck up a wholesome bond so strong that the Northern Irishman was even a groomsman at his hero’s wedding.

Now though, having already disclosed he no longer has “much of a relationship” with Garcia after his switch to LIV Golf, McIlroy has now detailed the heated text exchange which kick-started their fractured relationship. And it’s just as juicy as you might expect.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent – where he also exposed the origins of his feud with Greg Norman – McIlroy has revealed he woke up to a text from the Spaniard at the US Open telling him to “shut up about LIV”. This followed a truly bizarre conversation between the pair at the Wells Fargo Championship a month earlier.

“He said to me on the range that he’d gotten a new plane, and that if I wanted a ride with him to that first LIV event in London I was welcome,” McIlroy claims Garcia told him just several weeks before officially joining LIV. “I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“When he left I turned to Harry and said, ‘What was he on about there?’ I didn’t get the whole London thing. And Harry said, ‘The first LIV event is in London.’ It literally didn’t even register with me.

“On the Friday of the US Open I woke up to a text that was sent at 5:30 that morning. He had an early tee time, I didn’t, and I woke up to this text basically telling me to shut up about LIV, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I was pretty offended and sent him back a couple of daggers and that was it.”

The explosive texts were no doubt triggered by McIlroy’s comments at the Canadian Open one week earlier, where the four-time major winner unleashed several daggers towards Norman and LIV after his dramatic victory.

Since then, McIlroy has continued to take a leading role in the PGA Tour’s fight against LIV, while simultaneously seeing his once infectious relationship with Garcia rapidly deteriorate.

And while the newly crowned World No 1 insists he “understands” why Garcia jumped ship to Norman’s league, McIlroy admits his problem ultimately lies with how the Spaniard has responded to the repercussions of his defection.

“I understood his position,” the Northern Irishman continued. “He’s not that old. It’s a long time until the Champions Tour. It was a pathway to make more money without putting in the same work. I get that. Poulter? Westwood? G-Mac? Richard Bland? I understand.

“What I don’t understand is when they moan about the consequences, because they knew what the consequences were when they signed up.”