Rory McIlroy says he won’t return to PGA Tour policy board after ‘pretty messy’ conversations
By Jack Bantock, CNN
(CNN) — Rory McIlroy will not be returning to the PGA Tour policy board any time soon after some “pretty complicated and pretty messy” conversations, the Northern Irishman said Wednesday.
The world No. 2 resigned from his position as a player director after two years in November citing “personal and professional commitments,” but admitted last month that he would be willing to return to the board if he was wanted.
Yet following talks about replacing Webb Simpson, the American will now see out the rest of his term – which runs into 2025 – after McIlroy ruled out a return, citing that some on the board were “uncomfortable” with him coming back.
“There’s been a lot of conversations,” McIlroy, speaking ahead of the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, told reporters.
“It got pretty complicated and pretty messy, and I think with the way it happened, 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 who aren’t comfortable with coming back on, then I think Webb stays on and sees out his term.
“I wouldn’t say it was rejected,” he added. “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.”
McIlroy: Golf can learn from the Good Friday Agreement
As reconciliation talks between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to drag on further past the initial December 31 deadline, the schism between the warring tours continues to overshadow the men’s game.
Participation of LIV Golf players – unable to earn ranking points from events on the circuit – at the major championships continues to be a recurring point of contention, with seven players from the Saudi-backed league receiving special invites to play the PGA Championship next week.
McIlroy, who admitted in January that he had been “too judgmental” of the first players to switch from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, said both sides would need to be willing to compromise to bring the long-running feud to an end.
As an example, the 35-year-old referenced the Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal struck in 1998 that brought an end to decades of sectarian violence – “the Troubles” – in his homeland.
“Neither side was happy,” McIlroy recalled. “Catholics weren’t happy, Protestants weren’t happy, but it brought peace and then you just sort of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated.
“[Today], my generation doesn’t know any different – it’s just this is what it’s always been like and we’ve never known anything but peace.
“It’s probably not going to feel great for either side,” he added. “But if it’s a place where the game of golf starts to thrive again and we can all get back together, then I think that’s ultimately a really good thing.”
McIlroy is chasing a fourth win at Quail Hollow Club and arrives in fine form after teaming up with fellow Irishman Shane Lowry to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last month.
“I’ve had a pretty slow start to the season, especially over here in the States,” he said.
“I felt like I needed something like that to get me going and, hopefully, that’s the case.”
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