PGA Tour players Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods were “not particularly eager” to welcome Rory McIlroy back to the Policy Board, which led to McIlroy unveiling Wednesday that he would not in fact return, according to sources cited by Joel Beall of GOLF DIGEST. The icy relationship between Cantlay and McIlroy is “well-documented,” but sources said that the McIlroy-Woods relationship has “also soured over the past six months.” Beall wrote it “remains cordial, yet their different views on the future of professional golf has led to a falling out of sorts.” As for Spieth and McIlroy, the latter removed himself from a player text chain following Spieth’s comments at Pebble Beach -- where he said the Tour "doesn’t need" a deal with the PIF after the deal with SSG -- leading to an “hour-long chat between the two.” Tension remained at the Players Championship, where the two played together in the first two rounds and had “combative moments in the first round regarding two of McIlroy’s drops.” Beall wrote if anyone “deserves grace, it’s McIlroy.” Beall: “What he did over two years for the tour and the game brought an invisible pain and weight that can't be measured, and he was sold out by the very thing he was trying to defend.” However, McIlroy “did resign an elected spot, and players” -- and not just on the board -- don’t think he “just gets to simply walk on back.” There is also the “perception of a financial entanglement.” McIlroy is part of the Fenway Sports Group-backed TGL Boston team and FSG is a “major player” in SSG. Sources said that McIlroy’s team and Tour leadership “have attempted to sell the board on McIlroy’s return,” which has “further raised suspicions” (GOLF DIGEST, 5/8).
DIFFERENT READ: GOLFWEEK's Adam Woodard wrote PGA Tour Policy Board Player Dir Webb Simpson denied “any negative sentiment towards the world No. 2’s potential return to the board.” Simpson also noted that he “didn’t get any sense that McIlroy wasn’t welcomed.” Simpson: “I think the players on the board were very supportive of him being more involved, and in those conversations I think they all see the vital role he plays not only on the PGA Tour, but he’s a DP World Tour member and they’re such an important piece in the game of golf and our Tour” (GOLFWEEK, 5/8).
SAY IT LOUD: GOLF’s Sean Zak wrote McIlroy is “unafraid to voice his opinions and attach his name to them,” which puts him on a “pretty short list among the game’s elite.” But “not everyone in the Tour membership agrees with those opinions,” so not everyone agrees with the idea of McIlroy getting his spot back on the board. Zak: “We do know one thing, though -- he has Simpson’s endorsement, even if he won’t have his board seat.” Simpson said that he “now intends to continue forward through the remaining 20 months of his term” and will “clearly work to keep McIlroy closely involved” (GOLF, 5/8).
LONE RANGER: The AP’s Doug Ferguson noted Woods will be the lone player on a five-member subcommittee that will be involved in negotiations with the PIF. The Tour said that Woods will be part of the “transaction subcommittee” on the board of PGA Tour Enterprises that will handle day-to-day negotiations as PIF seeks to become a minority investor. Also on the subcommittee are PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, board Chair Joe Gorder, FSG owner John Henry and board Dir Liaison Joe Ogilvie. The subcommittee “reports back to the full board” (AP, 5/8).
PROTECTING WHAT'S BEST: SI’s Bob Harig wrote Woods is “protective of the PGA Tour, and for good reason.” It is understandable that the guy whose 82-victory total has been surpassed by no one “might want to see that part of his career remain intact, with a reasonable ode to the Tour’s history secure.” But the risks of “not making a deal remain: LIV Golf continues to hire and aspire.” It has plans going out several years. LIV Golf Commissioner & CEO Greg Norman has repeatedly said that his mandate from PIF Gov. Yasir Al-Rumayyan is to “keep building.” Harig: “And do you want to lose another player the caliber of Jon Rahm to LIV? What happens when existing LIV player contracts expire? Certainly, the league is going to want to sign new players” (SI, 5/8).
