“Not what I signed for whenever I went on the [PGA Tour] board,” reveals Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy has revealed he is not enjoying having a seat at the PGA Tour table at this very moment in time.
McIlroy, 34, first served as the chairman of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council in 2021 and then joined the PGA Tour Board as a player director in 2022.
But in light of the current golfing landscape that now sees the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) bid to get their shock framework agreement passed in the courts, McIlroy admits his role as a player director is not quite the one he initially signed up to last season.
The new entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, was created following the June 6 announcement with Saudi PIF.
Should the merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi PIF (the bankrollers of the Tour’s rival LIV Golf League) indeed go through, it will heavily reshape the elite level of men’s professional golf as we know it.
The initial December 31, 2023, deadline for a PGA Tour / Saudi PIF merger to become finalised is “likely to be pushed back due to a range of issues”, according to Bloomberg.
McIlroy was pressed by the media ahead of this week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai as to whether he is enjoying his role as player director on the PGA Tour right now, to which he replied:
“Not particularly, no. 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.
“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.”
McIlroy was also also quizzed by reporters on whether he thinks a deal will even get done between the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF in 2024.
The World No.2 just wants a verdict, and fast.
McIlroy said:
“I think getting something done sooner rather than later is a good thing, because you know, even if we get a deal done, it doesn’t mean that it’s actually going to happen. That’s up to the United States government at that point, and whether the Department of Justice think that it’s the right thing to do or whether anti-competitive or whatever. Even if a deal does get done, it’s not a sure thing. So yeah, we are just going to have to wait and see. But in my opinion, the faster something gets done, the better.”
Tiger Woods became the sixth player to sit on the PGA Tour’s policy board in August 2023, and it is understood he was called in to a “significant board meeting” at PGA Tour HQ on November 13.
The 15-time major champion joined McIlroy, Webb Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, Charley Hoffman and Peter Malnati as PGA Tour players on the board.
With now half of the 12-seat board backed by players, it means the players have greater control over the PGA Tour’s future.
Hence why both Woods and McIlroy are having a major say on shaping the PGA Tour.
McIlroy and Woods’ tech-infused golf league (TGL) will tee off in January 2024.
Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com