Analyst says Rory McIlroy reached out to him after on-air rant

Golf Channel analyst Johnson Wagner didn’t hide his frustration with some comments Rory McIlroy made during his pre-tournament press conference at the Genesis Invitational last week.

Turns out Johnson’s rant found its way to McIlroy as well.

Appearing on Lucas Glover’s SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show on Wednesday, Wagner said he had heard from McIlroy regarding Wagner’s critical comments, but they have yet to meet in person.

“He emailed me Thursday night and we’ve traded a couple of correspondences, but I have not heard back from him since the first one,” Wagner said on the show. “I think his agent reached out to someone higher up at Golf Channel. And like, you know, the thing I said at the end of my rant was that he’s angering me and that’s the only thing that I’m sorry for. The rest of it, I stand by completely. Because I guess in this position, I need to take the emotions out of it a little better. And I’m going to try to do that going forward.”

McIlroy met with the media at the Genesis coming off his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Among the topics he covered was the evolution of his own feelings when it comes to LIV Golf and the PGA Tour vs. LIV feud that is still without a solution.

“Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or you left, we have all benefited from this,” McIlroy said at Torrey Pines. “I’ve been on the record saying this a lot: We’re playing for a $20 million prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn’t come around. I think everyone’s just got to get over it, and we all have to say, OK, this is the starting point, and we move forward. We don’t look behind us. We don’t look to the past. Whatever’s happened has happened and it’s been unfortunate, but reunification, how we all come back together and move forward, that’s the best thing for everyone.

“If people are butt-hurt or have their feelings hurt because guys went or whatever, like, who cares? Let’s move forward together, and let’s just try to get this thing going again and do what’s best for the game.”

That led to Wagner taking aim that night on Golf Channel.

“The fact that he’s saying that we’ve all benefited, he’s just seeing things from a finite perspective, from his perspective,” Wagner said. “You know who hasn’t benefited since all these things have gone on? The sponsors, who pay all the bills. TV is down, everything is down yet they are being asked to pay more money. So, good for you, I’m glad you’re making more money than you were in ’19, which was a ton of money. Also, he’s telling everyone to get over it. Rory has said a lot of things over the past couple of seasons that have rubbed a lot of players the wrong way. Now, he wants everyone to get over it, he’s pushing for a small world tour. He’s trying to get his way in every way. I’m a huge fan of Rory, but he’s angering me right now.”