Photo Credit: Getty Images
"I don't think there's been much progress made in the last eight months... I could be helpful to the process," says Rory McIlroy on expected return to PGA Tour policy board.
Rory McIlroy believes that unity is the "only way forward for the game of golf" as he explained the reasons and motivation behind his willingness to make a shock return to the PGA Tour policy board.
As reported on Tuesday, McIlroy will return to the PGA Tour's policy board this week, subject to a vote approving his reappointment, just five months after stepping down from it.
Negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) over the shock Framework Agreement announced last June are understood to be stalling, with talks ongoing to unify the game.McIlroy would replace Webb Simpson, who has reportedly offered his resignation and requested the former world No 1 takes his place.
It is expected that McIlroy's involvement will help appease sponsors and Yasir Al-Rumayyan - chairman of the PIF - to expedite an agreement between the two parties, who are still some way apart in their visions for the sport.
In a message to Sky Sports News on Monday evening, McIlroy said: "I'd rather the men's golf professional landscape survived this, so I'm happy to do my bit."
On Wednesday, McIlroy faced the media for the first time since the news of his unexpected return emerged, ahead of his debut appearance in the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event, which is today on Thursday.
McIlroy joined the Player Advisory Council in 2019 and then served on the PGA Tour's policy board from 2021 to last November, when he resigned after citing concerns over his time and energy he had to commit to the role.
The four-time major winner has since performed something of a U-turn on his position towards LIV and the players who have defected from the established tours over the past two years - admitting ahead of the new season that he had been "too judgemental".
The PGa Tour's Zurich classic of New Orleans event is today on 25th.
Lewis Musonye
