Rory McIlroy watches a tee shot during the Zurich Classic in April.
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In any other year in the history of pro golf, it might have been easier to slip Rory McIlroy back into the leadership position on the PGA Tour, but this is not just any old year. In 2024, the PGA Tour created its own, for-profit company. There it received $1.5 billion from the world’s biggest sports investors. Where other, untold billions are, in theory at least, on the table for Saudi Arabia.
Unfortunately McIlroy, the man who wants to meet the gravity of all of the above, will not have a clearly defined seat on the PGA Tour Policy Board. (At least for now.)
Two weeks ago, Ewen Murray of the Guardian reported that Webb Simpson had resigned and called for McIlroy, who resigned from the policy board five months ago, to fill his place. But on Wednesday, as the PGA Tour prepares for the Signature Event at Quail Hollow, we learned that it’s been a mess ever since. Although Simpson, who is one of the six players’ directors, has deemed McIlroy the only possible replacement, that is not how things work. At least not during the most intense years of the board’s existence.
“It was very hard and dirty,” McIlroy said Wednesday at the Wells Fargo tournament. “I think that the way it happened, it opened old wounds and scars from things that have happened before.
“There was a small group of people on the board who were probably uncomfortable with my return, for some reason.”
McIlroy didn’t mince words, but it’s no secret that he and several board members had a falling out last year. It was just three months ago that McIlroy had an hour-long phone call with Jordan Spieth in response to Spieth’s dismissive comments about the need for an agreement with the Saudi PIF.
McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay have also had disagreements. And not just during the 18th-hole melee at the Ryder Cup in Rome. McIlroy admitted in an interview in December that his relationship with Cantlay is “in the middle,” and that “we don’t have a ton of similarities and we see the world very differently.”
That could be part of what McIlroy was dealing with when he put his hand up to replace Simpson. When McIlroy gave up his seat on the board, late last year, the other players’ directors unanimously agreed to give that position to Spieth. Anything less than a unanimous agreement is a problem, given the players’ managers are, for the first time, signing letters to members as a club. Nothing happens on the policy board without approval from all the players’ directors.
The problem is that the board is not developing the Tour (at least publicly) towards a sustainable future at any kind of pace. Most of the players’ managers have cheated on the interviews. Tourism Commissioner Jay Monahan was vague when addressing the media at his annual state-of-the-union press conference. Meanwhile, the Tour’s television audience tunes in to many tournaments this year, including the first major of the year, the Masters. Fans are undoubtedly fed up, and so are many members of the PGA Tour. McIlroy is not afraid to express his opinions and attach his name to them, which puts him on a very short list among the game’s elite. But not everyone on the tour agrees with those views, so not everyone agrees with the idea of McIlroy regaining his place on the board.
We do know one thing, though – he’s endorsed by Simpson, even if he won’t have his board seat. Simpson said he now intends to serve out the remaining 20 months of his term and will clearly work to keep McIlroy more involved. He just couldn’t explain McIlroy’s position more coherently on Wednesday morning.
“I think the feeling was Rory McIlroy, being a world star and the strong voice he has in the game of golf, it would be great to have him more involved,” Simpson said. “So, you know, in what capacity will he be involved? I think in the last three weeks we’ve been wanting him to be more involved, and I think I’ve seen some support from the guys in wanting him to be more involved and help. All he said to me is that I want to help if you want to help me. So thank you for wanting to help. He has an important voice as I said and I think he has had a good impact in the last week in his role.”
Those last two words are telling, even without details. His role. Simpson didn’t explain what his “role” meant to McIlroy, but it would appear to be some sort of mentorship. Perhaps alongside the various committees in charge of making progress on reunification. McIlroy knows the structures of the business, he is strong with the SSG investment group, he has a very close relationship with the DP World Tour – McIlroy is in the process of moving to London – and he believes that the highest ceiling of professional golf involves the best players in the world that plays a lot of golf in America, but also leaves that luxury at home and bringing the Tour abroad often. That was the first thing that came to mind on Wednesday, when McIlroy was asked to stop the compromises the Tour may have to make to reach an investment deal with the Saudi PIF and meet with players at LIV Golf.
“When we go to the international program,” McIlroy began, “do American players who usually play their golf in America want to travel outside the States 12 times a year to play tournament golf, you know? That is a consideration.”
And another one McIlroy has been talking about for months. You can hear how well he speaks those words. You’ve said it before, many times, not in front of a microphone. His vision for golf’s biggest future, but he knows it may not actually happen. That’s why he thinks now it was a moment of opportunity that might pass. Due to his resignation last year, McIlroy is on the verge of doing so, but the past few weeks have made it look like he’s on the move. More of the position than he was two months ago.
“His vision is huge for us,” Simpson said. “He’s a world player, he’s always been there, so I think his opinions are important, and the other guys feel the same way.
“We’ve got to figure out, OK, where is his place – how can we respect our role as board members and our commitment to the Tour, but also bring in a guy to at least voice his opinion and just see how he can do it. Help us.”
