Rory McIlroy looks to be heading back to the PGA Tour’s player advisory council.
According to multiple reports, McIlroy is set to return to the board as soon as this week. The four-time major winner had previously been a part of the player panel but resigned from his post in November.
If and when he’s appointed back to the board, McIlroy would take the place of Webb Simpson, who is stepping down before the end of his term. According to the Guardian, Simpson requested that McIlroy take his place on the board.
McIlroy has been one of the most vocal PGA Tour supporters in the aftermath of LIV Golf’s formation, and the news that he’s set to rejoin the board comes after London financial newspaper City A.M. reported earlier this month that McIlroy had been offered $850 million and an equity stake to join LIV. Shortly after that report emerged, McIlroy once again reaffirmed his commitment to the PGA Tour.
When he resigned from the board in November, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said that McIlroy was stepping back to focus on his golf game and his family.
“Given the extraordinary time and effort that Rory — and all of his fellow Player Directors — have invested in the TOUR during this unprecedented, transformational period in our history, we certainly understand and respect his decision to step down in order to focus on his game and his family,” Monahan said in a statement.
McIlroy has served as the unofficial spokesperson for the PGA Tour since the LIV Golf split and his comments about the state of professional golf carry serious weight. McIlroy was asked at the DP World Tour Championship six months ago at the time of his resignation if he enjoyed having a seat at the table and he said the commitments were more than he had bargained for.
“Not particularly, no,” McIlroy said. “Not what I signed for whenever I went on the board. But yeah, the game of professional golf has been in flux for the last two years.
“Again, the overall game I think is in really good shape. But everyone focuses on this top level because it is what it is, and it’s an entertainment product and it’s a show, but the faster that it gets rectified, I think the better for everyone.”
It’s entirely possible to view McIlroy’s decision to rejoin the board as a sense of duty to help the PGA Tour. The Tour is still looking to finalize a financial agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the entity that funds LIV Golf. In June, the two groups surprised the golf world with an announcement of a framework agreement. However, nothing has been actually agreed upon in the last 10 months, and Jon Rahm left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in December.
