'Once You Quit You're Not Getting Back' - PGA Tour Pros On Opposing McIlroy's Policy Board Return
We’re getting to hear a lot more about the unrest within the PGA Tour playing membership and just why Rory McIlroy was not welcomed back onto the Policy Board.
McIlroy resigned at the end of last year, but was seemingly asked to come back, reportedly by Webb Simpson who himself wanted to step aside and have the Northern Irishman replace him.
And while Jay Monahan has said McIlroy not being allowed back was a procedural issue, the four-time Major champion said it was due to “a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason”.
Simpson has insisted there’s still a role for McIlroy to play, sentiments echoed by board member Adam Scott who also hinted before the latest edition of the PGA Tour drama that it would be tough under the current rules to bring McIlroy back.
It’s clear, though, that there’s a divide both on the Policy Board and within the wider membership about the way forward with regards the PIF deal – and certain players that did not want McIlroy back on the board.
Former member Kevin Streelman ran against McIlroy for Player Advisory Council chairman, and was adamant the former World No.1 should not be allowed back after previously quitting.
“He was very clear that it was too much for him. He had business dealings, he has a kid, he wants to focus on his game. Trust me, I get it. But once you quit, you’re not getting back,” Streelman told Golfweek.
“I wouldn’t quit on something that you were elected to by your peers. To want back in is peculiar.”
((Image credit: Getty Images))
And that opinion was backed up by another former player director James Hahn, who was also uncomfortable with the prospect of Simpson being able to name his successor.
“That’s just not how democracy works. It goes against all the principles of what make a Tour-run organization,” Hahn added to Golfweek.
“Imagine if instead of Rory, Webb said he wanted Nate Lashley, who has been vocal against some of the Tour policy decisions, or named me to replace him. There would be an absolute uproar. People would be saying, ‘You can’t do that.’ ”
McIlroy hinted at the divide when he talked about one of the sticking points with talks over the future being American golfers not wanting a more global schedule.
McIlroy said: “It could be if we go to more of a global schedule, do the American players that are used to playing all their golf in America want to travel outside of the States 12 times a year to play tournament golf, you know? That’s a consideration.”
About the only thing clear at the moment is that it’s not the last we’ve heard of this, with perhaps a new divide growing even within the PGA Tour along with in men’s pro golf as a whole.