Rory McIlroy won’t be rejoining the PGA Tour Policy Board after he revealed some people were “uncomfortable” with his return.
The Northern Irishman didn’t name names but said the process of rejoining the player-led group he left in November became “complicated and pretty messy” which is why he will remain outside the PGA Tour boardroom.
Having stepped down as a player director at the end of 2023, it was reported he would U-turn to the board last month and help accelerate the PGA Tour’s negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia which were first made public in June of last year.
It was also reported Webb Simpson would give up his spot and allow McIlroy to slot in, but the four-time major champion has revealed this is no longer the case and he is happy for Simpson to continue.
“There’s been a lot of conversations. Sort of reminded me partly why I didn’t,” he said at Quail Hollow. “I think it just, it got pretty complicated and pretty messy and I think with the way it happened, I think it opened up some old wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before.”
“There was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason.
“I think the best course of action is if there are some people on there that aren’t comfortable with me coming back on, then I think Webb just stays on and sees out his term, and I think he’s gotten to a place where he’s comfortable with doing that and I just keep doing what I’m doing.
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“I put my hand up to help and it was – I wouldn’t say it was rejected, it was a complicated process to get through to put me back on there. So that’s all fine, no hard feelings and we’ll all move on.”
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“I would say that golf and the PGA Tour has been so good to me over the years,” he said after being asked why he felt driven to serve the PGA Tour.
“I just feel like it’s my obligation or duty to try to give back and try to set the next generation of players up like we were set up by the previous generation. So Jack, Arnie, the guys that really helped build the PGA Tour and helped it thrive, and Tiger obviously, to get it to where it is today.
“There’s a responsibility with every generation to try to leave the tour, leave the place that you’re playing in a bit of a better spot than it was before. That’s what it’s about.”
Rory McIlroy: PGA Tour Policy Board return off the cards
McIlroy was replaced by Jordan Spieth as one of six player directors, the others being Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Peter Malnati. He stepped down to focus on his game and being “a good husband and a good father.”
In the same month of his resignation, McIlroy revealed to the Irish Independent that he and Cantlay, who joined the board this year, “don’t have a ton in common and see the world quite differently.”
Their relationship was put to the test further at the Ryder Cup in Rome when McIlroy was involved in a row with Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava.
Since the inception of the LIV Golf League in 2022, McIlroy assumed a role of seniority in the boardroom and in public as he became the tour’s loudest supporter in its war with the Saudi-backed rival in LIV Golf, as tour players have continued to be lured by the breakaway circuit.
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However like many of his tour colleagues, McIlroy’s first thought now is peace and, after a meeting between the player directors and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF in March marked significant progress, he is optimistic a deal between the two entities can be achieved.
“I’m still optimistic,” he added. “I think Webb staying on is a really good thing. I think he’s got a really balanced voice in all of this and I think he sees the bigger picture, which is great.
“My fear was if Webb stepped off and it wasn’t me that was going in his place, what could potentially happen. Yeah, I’m really happy that Webb has made that decision to stay on and serve out the rest of his term.”
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