On the 16th of April, at Ten-Golf we gave some clues about the bombshell news that was circulating in all newsrooms about a possible and multimillion-dollar signing of Rory McIlroy by LIV Golf. Among them, the one that assured, from well-informed sources in everything that surrounds the world of golf, that the Northern Irishman was not only not going to sign for the Saudi tour but that he could return to the board of the PGA Tour, which he left a few months ago, replacing Webb Simpson.
A news that, in a way, has come to reinforce this Wednesday the player himself in his official press conference prior to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Although his answer to the direct question about whether he could confirm if he would return to the ‘board’ of the PGA Tour has been a “for the moment, no”, the “maybe” with which he has answered when questioned if they could hypothetically speak has given way to a more detailed explanation about the situation in which he finds himself.
“I think I can be useful. I don’t think much progress has been made in the last eight months and I was hoping that it would be. I think I could be useful for the process. But only if people want me to get involved, I guess. When Webb and I talked about the possibility of leaving the board, I told him that if it was something that others wanted, I would gladly take that position, that was the talk we had”, Rory began saying.
“But yes, I think that’s the reason. I feel that I can be useful. I think I care a lot and have quite a bit of experience and good contacts in the game and in the ecosystem in general, in everything that’s going on. But, at the end of the day, returning to the ‘board’ is not up to me. There is a process to follow. But I am willing to do it if that is what people want, I guess”, the Northern Irish golfer insisted, opening the door wide to his return to the board of the PGA Tour.
About the fact of having a firmer stance when negotiating a possible unification with other circuits, McIlroy had no doubts: “Of course, yes. I think it’s the only way forward for golf”. And about how to handle the situation if he returns with people with whom he did not always agree, he detailed: “Committing, but also trying to articulate his points of view as well as he can and trying to help people see the benefits of what unification could do for the game and what it could do for this particular tour”.
“There is a process to follow, but I am willing to do it if that is what people want, I think I can be useful”
“Obviously, we realize that golf is not unified at this moment for a reason, and there are still some resentments and things that need to be addressed, but I think at this moment, for the good of the game, we all have to put aside those feelings and move forward together”, he insisted.
Finally, Rory was asked about whether he felt relief or overwhelmed when he decided to leave the board: “Yes and no. I would say I’ve played some of my best golf games while I was a member of the PGA Tour board, so I don’t think it really hurt me. Maybe it took away some time to do things or spend time doing things I wanted to do at home, and having to take calls two, three times a week and the whole thing started to take its toll, as it has done with many of the players. At the end of the day, we are golfers. We don’t need to run a 15 billion dollar business. We have to go out and play golf and let the business people do the business things”.
