Vincent Frank
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were once as chummy as it gets. That’s no longer the case between the two as more drama continues to unfold.
It has very little to do with the LIV Golf and PGA rift that has been a major source of strife in the golf world. The two are in lockstep when it comes to remaining faithful to the domestic circuit.
More recently, it’s all about Rory resigning from the PGA Tour policy board and Woods’ potential impact in him returning as a member.
According to Golf Digest, Woods opposed McIlroy’s return to the board, in part because their relationship has “soured over the past six months.” The report goes on to note that this is presumably because McIlroy believes the PGA Tour should accept money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. OK, so there is a minor LIV backdrop to this. Would you expect anything else?
We’ll expand on it below.
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Rory McIlroy Speaks Out About Not Returning To PGA Policy Board
The world No. 2 and four-time Major champion seemed to suggest recently that there is some drama behind the scenes when it comes to himself and Woods. While he did not specifically mention the all-time great golfer, it’s easy to read between the lines.
In indicating that he will not be returning to the board, McIlroy said that there have been some “pretty complicated and pretty messy conversations.”
He expanded on this.
“There was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason. I think the best course of action is, if there [are] some people on there who aren’t comfortable with coming back on,” McIlroy said, via CNN.
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What Happened Between Rory McIlroy And Tiger Woods?
It’s complicated. Yes, that’s a line out of a rom-com. But it actually does make sense in this case. As noted above, Rory is open to the PGA taking Saudi money despite pushing back against joining the international circuit at nearly every turn.
Woods was even more steadfast against going that route. Well, until recently. He’s pretty much been appointed the sole member of the board to negotiate with
“Tiger Woods will be the lone player on a five-member subcommittee that will be involved in negotiations with the Public Investment Fund, part of a busy day of governance as the PGA Tour tries to strike a deal with Saudi backers of LIV Golf,” the Associated Press reported.
In short, Woods is now open to taking money from the PIF. But he wants it on his own terms. Such is the nature of the beast when you still control things around the PGA world.