After his attempts to re-join the board he had stepped down from back in November proved unsuccessful, the Northern Irishman said, “With the way it happened it opened up some wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before.” When it seemed like a formality that the PGA Tour’s former de facto spokesperson would be returning to help expedite peace talks with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which was funding LIV Golf, McIlroy had declared he was “happy to my bit.” In fact, Webb Simpson was willing to give up his seat at the negotiating table if McIlroy could take his place during such contentious conversations.
But as it happens, not everyone was as excited as Simpson to see McIlroy return to the boardroom. The four-time major champion admitted that “there was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason.” Furthermore, it seems that Tiger Woods, one of the five player directors who, aside from Simpson, had the authority to determine whether to restore McIlroy, offered some opposition. According to The Telegraph, Woods voted against McIlroy’s return to the PGA Tour board. This decision will have a significant impact on the future of the men’s professional game as well as on their relationship.
Being longtime friends, Woods and McIlroy co-founded TGL, an indoor golf league that will debut in the first part of 2019. However, it’s becoming more and more clear that the two disagree about what the future holds for golf. McIlroy has stated once more how the LIV split is detrimental to the game and how he believes the division to be “unsustainable.” He was ready to go back to the board in order to negotiate a settlement with the Saudi backers of the breakaway league because of this.
Woods, meantime, claims to have had a “positive” meeting in the Bahamas in March with PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, with the aim of resuming talks in advance of a final deal. However, the 15-time major winner has also stated that the PGA Tour does not require Saudi funding as of late, thanks to financial support from the Strategic Sports Group, an American corporation headed by the Fenway Sports Group, the owners of Liverpool FC. In the end, Woods stated in February, “we would like PIF to be a part of our tour and a part of our product.” “Monetarily, we don’t require that at this time. Anything more will certainly go above and beyond this. Right now, we’re in a fantastic situation.
Additionally, the friendship between McIlroy and Woods has reportedly “sourmed in the last six months” as a result of their divergent perspectives on the state of the sport, according to Golf Digest. It seems that Woods was so uncomfortable seeing McIlroy again in the PGA Tour boardroom.
