A PGA Tour board member attempted to resign his seat two weeks ago with the specific caveat that Rory McIlroy join the powerful group. It now appears that the board is resisting the return of Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy told reporters Wednesday that the process for his return was complicated and that not all parties supported him after McIlroy resigned his own seat on the board six months earlier. In turn, Webb Simpson, the man who hoped to resign to let McIlroy return, is expected to retain his seat on the board for the remainder of his term.
“I think there was — there was a subset of people on the board that maybe weren’t comfortable with me coming back for whatever reason,” McIlroy said after a pro-am round at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte. “I think the best solution is if, you know, there are people there who aren’t comfortable with me coming back, then I think Webb stays and completes his term, and I think that he’s gotten to a place where he’s comfortable doing that and I’m just kind of continuing to do what I’m doing.
McIlroy was the loudest and most public face of the PGA Tour in its war with LIV – often criticizing the Saudi-funded league and the players who left the PGA Tour to join it – until the tour announces to everyone’s surprise a framework agreement to team up with the public. Saudi Arabia Investment Fund on June 6, 2023. After this announcement, he called himself a “sacrificial lamb” and took a big step back from his prominent public role. He resigned from the PGA Tour’s political board in November and Jordan Spieth took his place.
The policy council is a collection of 11 voting members who help decide the future of the PGA Tour with six seats reserved for player directors. Shortly after McIlroy resigned, Sports Illustrated reported McIlroy (who was primarily struggling to distribute the wealth throughout the tour) lost a power battle to the bloc of Patrick Cantlay, Tiger Woods and Spieth, who were all pushing for more money and power for the top players .
Since his departure, McIlroy has reactivated his voice but reoriented his message towards unification with LIV and bringing all the top players together. He bullied people, publicly criticizing Spieth for saying the PGA Tour didn’t “need” the Saudis. He constantly made comments about the desire for money ruining the sport. He then had an embarrassing incident at the Players Championship with his playing partners Spieth and Viktor Hovland.
McIlroy’s return to the board would have undoubtedly created an interesting dynamic.
“I think it reopened old wounds and scar tissue from things that happened before,” McIlroy said Wednesday.
When reports first surfaced of Simpson’s resignation letter at the Zurich Classic in April, McIlroy said of a potential return: “I think I can be helpful.” I don’t think there has been much progress in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. »
At the time, most thought McIlroy’s return would be a straightforward process, but there isn’t much, if any, precedent for a board member to ask who will take his place. McIlroy made several comments acknowledging the need for the board to approve it.
“But only if people want me to get involved, I guess,” he said. “When Webb and I talked and he talked about the possibility of leaving the board, I said, look, if that was something other people wanted, I would gladly take that seat, and that’s the conversation we had.”
McIlroy said his return wasn’t completely rejected, but the process was complicated and there were no hard feelings. He remains optimistic about reaching a deal with PIF, in part because Simpson retains his seat on the board.
“I think he has a really balanced voice in all of this and I think he sees the big picture, which is great,” McIlroy said. “My fear was if Webb went down and I wasn’t the one going instead of him, what might happen.”
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(Top photo: Warren Little / Getty Images)