In the wake of the Greg Norman-led LIV Golf tour announcing its field for the first event next week in London, one of its most ardent detractors on Wednesday shrugged his shoulders with what he termed indifference.

Rory McIlroy, who’s been the most vocal opposition among the world’s top players with regard to the Saudi-backed tour that the PGA Tour views as a threat, tweaked the strength of the LIV field while speaking to reporters on Wednesday in advance of this week’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

But McIlroy, who’s a member of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council (PAC), said he doesn’t believe the PGA Tour needs to “drop the hammer’’ in disciplining the players who’ve chosen to play in the London event, which takes place June 9-11.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been adamant that any players who play in the LIV events that coincide with a PGA Tour event will be subject to disciplinary action that could result in being banned from the tour completely.

“Look, they are well within their rights to enforce the rules and regulations that have been set,’’ McIlroy said of the PGA Tour. “But … it’s going to end up being an argument about what those rules and regulations are. I have some very close friends that are playing in this event in London and I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in their way for them to do what they feel is right for themselves.

“It’s not something that I would do personally, but I certainly understand why some of the guys have went, and it’s something that we are all just going to keep an eye on and see what happens over these next few weeks.’’

Among the 42 players who were announced as part of the 48-player field for the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event, the most prominent and surprising one was Dustin Johnson, the 13th ranked player in the world who’s won two major championships among his 24 career titles.

Interestingly, Royal Bank of Canada is the lead sponsor to the PGA Tour event that’s taking place next week while Johnson is playing the LIV event. Johnson had already committed to the RBC Canadian Open and has been featured on a number of the event’s publicity literature.

When the announcement came releasing the LIV field, RBC came out late Tuesday and denounced Johnson’s decision. Then on Wednesday, the company cut ties with him.

The company issued this statement: “As a result of the decisions made by professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener, RBC is terminating its sponsorship agreement with both players. We wish them well in their future endeavors.”

Other long-time PGA Tour veterans who’ve committed to the first LIV eveny include Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Charl Schwartzel, Talor Gooch, Matt Jones, Chase Koepka (the younger brother of Brooks Koepka), as well as prominent amateurs James Piot (2021 U.S. Amateur winner) and Clemson’s Turk Pettit (2021 NCAA individual champion).

Prominent in his absence from that list is Phil Mickelson, who’s been heavily-linked to the Saudi tour because of his disagreements with the way the PGA Tour has conducted its business with its top players.

But don’t rule Mickelson out at all. In fact, expect him to be eventually announced as a part of the field. Of the six spots remaining in the 48-player field, five will go to qualifiers, which leaves one spot open.

Since this Norman venture first emerged, the pattern it has set has been to stagger its public announcements for dramatic affect as a way to further draw attention to itself. If you’re a betting person, it’s a pretty safe bet that Mickelson’s participation will be released in the coming days.

As for McIlroy, his reaction to the field that was released by LIV Golf on Tuesday night was “a couple of surprises in there,’’ surely meaning Johnson, who back in February had publicly announced his intention to stay with the PGA Tour.

“I certainly don’t think the field is anything to jump up and down about,’’ he said. “Look at the field this week (at Memorial). Look at the field next week in Canada (at the RBC Canadian Open). They are proper golf tournaments.’’

McIlroy was asked on Wednesday if he has “any sense’’ that the players who’ve chosen to play the LIV Golf event still want to play on the PGA Tour.

“Not really,’’ he said. “You have some guys in a position where like they are literally not guaranteed a job next year. It’s hard to stay in the Top 125 out here [to keep your PGA Tour card], especially when you’re a guy in your 40s and maybe you don’t hit the ball as far as you’ve used to.

“As we’ve seen, it’s a young man’s game nowadays. So, someone that isn’t guaranteed their Tour card next year, another entity comes along and says, ‘We’ll guarantee you this amount for three years, plus you’re playing for a ton more prize money, and you’re playing less events, you can spend more time with your family.’ I mean, whenever you sit down and look at some of those things, you know, it’s very appealing to some of those guys that are in that position.

“I’m not in that position, and it’s not something that I would do. But you know, you at least have to try to put yourself in other people’s shoes and see where they are coming from.’’