Rory McIlroy’s sudden resignation as Player Director from the PGA Tour Policy Board on November 14 has spiked an array of speculations in the golf world. Although the golfer has himself asserted that he has “personal and professional commitments” which is why he took the decision to step down from the position, the reason didn’t fit in properly.
Now, a popular conjecture has come up that says that McIlroy was in fact fed up of being the ‘sacrificial lamb’ of the PGA Tour, and being on calls for 7-8 hours was taking a toll on him and his career.
Rory McIlroy Sets His Priorities Straight Post Resignation
While the four-time major winner was one of the most active spokesmen during the entire PGA-LIV beef and devoted hours to tour meetings, the Irishman, like other players, was kept uninformed of the $3 billion merger that was carried out secretively behind closed doors. This was a betrayal of his loyalty to the Tour, and that consequently set the stage for his resignation.
Even 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm admitted how demanding the position was when he was asked if he would replace McIlroy. “I’ve been asked a couple times if I have any interest but I’m not going to spend time in six, seven-hour long meetings. I’m not here for that.”
But after all the turmoil Rory faced for the PGA-LIV topsy-turvy, it seems like the golfer finally decided to focus on his game, and in an interview, he expressed the same.
Rory McIlroy’s Tuesday announcement was nothing less than a shock, but he clarified his stance by defining his priorities over other additional work. In an interview at the DP World Tour Championship, he stated, “I just think I’ve got a lot going on in my life between my golf game, my family and my growing investment portfolio, my involvement in TGL [an indoor golf league], and I just felt like something had to give”
🗣️ “Something had to give”
Rory McIlroy explains why he has resigned from the PGA Tour’s policy board ⛳ pic.twitter.com/MhCY0C1neO
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 16, 2023
Added to that, he also said, “I just didn’t feel like I could commit the time and the energy into doing that. I don’t mind being busy, but I just like being busy doing my own stuff”.
Over the course of the last two strenous years, McIlroy has been deeply involved in the battle of the Tours for dominance in golf, and he has never hidden the fact that he is battle-fatigued from the attritional struggle between the established tours and the LIV Golf insurgency. It makes sense.
During the week of a tournament at the height of the conflict, he participated in a high-level meeting that lasted for seven hours!
It’s obvious that McIlroy would like to focus on his speciality, which is thwacking a golf ball about a magnified field, as opposed to getting sucked into the muck of contentious meetings and drawn-out phone conversations that have become the norm.
Rory’s resignation did come as a surprise especially to Rahm who said, “Did I expect it? Not really. But I can understand why somebody would do that, especially with everything that’s involved.”
As McIlroy stepped down from his seat, the position has now been taken over by Jordan Spieth. He was selected by five other player directors to serve the remaining tenure of Rory McIlroy. But will Spieth face the same issues that McIlroy did during his tenure and will he be able to do justice to his position? Only time will tell. And given that the deadline to finalize the framework agreement is fast approaching, a stability in the PGA Tour Policy Board structure is crucial now more than ever.
