Rory McIlroy has responded when asked if he can confirm that he is about to return to the PGA Tour Policy Board six months after stepping down from the role.
The future of Rory McIlroy has been one of the key talking points in the sport over the last few years, with a number of his peers defecting to LIV Golf since its inception.
McIlroy started out as arguably the tour’s strongest critic, but his stance has softened as time has gone on. And with that, there has been plenty of speculation about whether the Northern Irishman could decide to make the jump.
Certainly, one incident that definitely caught the eye of a lot of golf fans was McIlroy’s decision to step down from the PGA Tour Policy Board in November last year.
Rory McIlroy reportedly set for return to PGA Tour Policy Board
It has definitely been an interesting couple of weeks for the four-time major champion. Reports even claimed at one stage that McIlroy was on the verge of agreeing a stunning move to LIV Golf.
Those reports were quickly shot down, and McIlroy himself confirmed that he was not moving to LIV. And his PGA Tour u-turn is nearly complete, with the 34-year-old reportedly set to return to the Policy Board (Telegraph).
McIlroy was asked in his press conference ahead of the Zurich Classic whether he could confirm the news, before then being asked what has potentially changed for him.
“Not as of yet, no,” he initially said.
“I think I can be helpful. There’s been progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process, but only if people want me involved I guess,” he added.
What Northern Irishman’s expected return could mean for golf
McIlroy would then admit that the reunification of the sport would be one of his main goals. So clearly, he believes that he stands a much better chance of making that happen if he has a position of power.
What is frustrating for some golf fans is that it seems clear that the tours will reach an agreement at some stage, so it is something to get on with now.
Obviously, each of the tours will have their lines in the sand, so discussions will be extremely difficult, particularly with no agreement emerging thus far.
McIlroy will be hoping his expected return to the Policy Board acts as a catalyst for change.
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