Rory McIlroy dismisses Phil Mickelson view that PGA Tour trending downwards

'The guys that went over to LIV, they're the ones that have made the disruption, they're the ones that have sort of put the golf world in flux right now'

STRAIGHT SHOOTER: McIlroy praticing before the CJ Cup in Ridgeland, South Carolina, which tees off Thursday. 

RORY McIlroy says he does not agree with Phil Mickelson's assertion that the PGA Tour is "trending downwards", believing that the golfers who joined the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf Series have thrust the sport into a state of flux.

The LIV Series, which launched in June, has lured away some of the sport's biggest names with enormous purses while those who joined the rebel circuit are no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour events.