Rory McIlroy responds ahead of shock return to PGA Tour board

Rory McIlroy is poised to make a surprise return the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, just five months after stepping down.

The Guardian has reported that McIlroy is set to re-enter the peace talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which aim to unify the fractured elite men’s game.

Those negotiations with LIV Golf’s backers have stalled as the sport’s schism drags on long after the shock Framework Agreement that the warring factions announced last June.

But McIlroy shares a good relationship with PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and there is hope the Northern Irishman’s involvement once more could expedite an end to the disruption on the fairways.

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McIlroy would replace Webb Simpson on the board of six player directors, subject to a vote on Wednesday. Simpson has reportedly resigned with the sole request that the four-time major champion takes his place.

The other players on the policy board are Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth.

Speaking to Sky Sports News after reports emerged of his return, McIlroy said: “I’d rather the men’s golf professional landscape survived this, so I’m happy to do my bit.”

For a long time, McIlroy acted as a mouthpiece for the PGA Tour, rallying against the threat of the rival LIV circuit.

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His stance on LIV has since evolved, but he has categorically ruled out ever moving to the Saudi-backed league by insisting he will play on the PGA Tour for the rest of his career.

And McIlroy will now have his say at the centre of the talks that will dictate the sport’s future. The 34-year-old had initially walked away from his position in the boardroom because the role had become too consuming.

“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, and I just felt like something had to give,” he said in November.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.