Rory McIlroy’s resignation from PGA Tour policy board will cut out Major distraction

Rory McIlroy’s resignation as a member of the PGA Tour’s policy board – where he had an inside track and influence on the evolving world of men’s professional golf – should enable him to cut off the outside white noise and concentrate solely on his own game in the quest to complete the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy, the world number two, hasn’t won a Major since his 2014 US PGA Championship success and, at 34, is still seeking to complete the missing piece in the jigsaw, the Masters title which has proven elusive.

The resignation – which was conveyed to McIlroy’s fellow PGA Tour members in an email from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Tuesday night after receiving a letter from the Northern Irishman – came as a surprise, with McIlroy serving on the Player Advisory Council from 2019-2021 (chairman in 2021) and for the past two years as a player director on the influential policy board.

McIlroy’s tenure was due to run until the end of 2024 and it is up to the remaining player directors – Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Charley Hoffman, Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati – to nominate a successor.

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In his resignation letter, McIlroy cited “professional and personal commitments” as a reason for stepping away. He had been the most vocal player on behalf of the PGA Tour after the arrival of LIV Golf – funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) – which upset the old world order of men’s professional golf and, then, earlier this year, was blindsided by news that the PGA Tour were involved in talks with PIF.

McIlroy, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of this week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai where he will be crowned Harry Vardon Trophy winner of the order of merit for a fifth time in his career, had voiced how he was no longer enjoying his role on the policy board.

“[It’s] not what I signed up for whenever I went on the board. But, yeah, the game of professional golf has been in flux for the last two years,” said McIlroy.

In his memo to PGA Tour players, Monahan commented: “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.”

McIlroy’s playing commitments – competing on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour – as well as being involved with Tiger Woods on the development of their franchise-based TGL stadium golf project would indicate he has enough on his plate moving forward to keep himself busy. And, of course, there is that ongoing desire to complete that Grand Slam, a feat only achieved by five players (Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods).