CNN
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Rory McIlroy will not immediately return to the PGA Tour's policy committee after a “quite complicated and very troubling” conversation, the Northern Irishman said on Wednesday.
The world number two resigned from his role as player manager after two years in November citing “personal and professional commitments”, but last month confirmed he was open to returning to the board if he wished. .
However, following discussions about replacing Webb Simpson, McIlroy ruled out a return, citing some board members being “uncomfortable” with his return, leaving the American with no chance of returning for the rest of his term. (until 2025).
“There was a lot of conversation,” McIlroy told reporters ahead of the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.
“It got pretty complicated and messy, and given the way it happened, I think it opened up old wounds and scar tissue from things that had happened before.
“There were some people on the board who were probably uncomfortable with me coming back for whatever reason. The best course of action, if any, was to… [are] Some people may be reluctant to come back, but I think Webb will stay and see out his term to the end.
“I can’t say I was rejected,” he added. “It was a complicated process to get through to get me back there. It's okay, there are no hard feelings, and we all move on.”
Settlement negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to drag on beyond the original deadline of Dec. 31, and the division between the rival tours continues to cast a shadow over the men's game.
Participation in major championships for LIV golfers who cannot earn ranking points from on-circuit events remains a point of contention, with seven players from the Saudi-backed league receiving special invitations to next week's PGA Championship.
McIlroy admitted in January that he had been “too critical” of the first players to switch from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, but said both sides were willing to compromise to end the years-long feud. He said it was necessary.
As an example, the 35-year-old mentioned the Good Friday Agreement. The Good Friday Agreement was a 1998 peace agreement that ended decades of sectarian violence in the Troubles.
“Neither side was happy,” McIlroy said. “Catholics and Protestants were not happy, but now that there was peace, they learned to live with whatever was negotiated.
“[Today], my generation doesn't know any different from that. But this has always been the case, and we have never known anything but peace.
“It's probably not a good feeling on either side,” he added. “But if this is a place where the game of golf can start to thrive again and we can all come together again, I think that's a really good thing in the end.”
McIlroy is seeking his fourth win at the Quail Hollow Club and is in great form alongside fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, who won the Zurich Classic in New Orleans last month.
“We've had a pretty slow start to the season, especially here in America,” he said.
“I felt like I needed something like that to move me forward and I hope that happens.”
