RORY MCILROY CALLS FOR GOLF'S 'GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT' AFTER BEING LOCKED OUT OF LIV GOLF TALKS

Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will not rejoin the PGA Tour Policy Board, being locked out of talks with LIV Golf bankroller, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF).

McIlroy resigned from the policy board in November amid growing frustration over the tour's direction amid merger talks with PIF. A framework agreement for the tour, DP World Tour and PIF to merge was announced 11 months ago, but a deal is yet to be agreed.

It is hoped an agreement between the PGA Tour and the Saudi backers would heal the divisions created by the LIV Golf breakaway in 2022, enabling the best players in the world to be on the course together more often.

Last month, World No.2 McIlroy revealed he was going through the procedure to rejoin the policy board – which has been at the heart of talks with PIF – following a plea from Webb Simpson, who planned to vacate his seat as a player director on the condition that the Northern Irishman would be the man to replace him.

McIlroy tentatively accepted, but ahead of Thursday's opening round at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, North Carolina, he told reporters that he will not be rejoining the policy board after all.

“It just got pretty complicated and pretty messy,” McIlroy said. “With the way it happened, it opened up some wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before. And I think there was a subset of people on the board who were uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason.

“I think the best course of action is if there is some people on there who aren’t comfortable with coming back on, then I think Webb stays on and sees out his term. He’s got to a place where he’s comfortable with doing that. I just keep doing what I’m doing.”

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McIlroy believes golf needs its own "Good Friday Agreement", the legislation introduced in 1998 that brought power sharing to Northern Irish politics, ending decades of violence. The four-time major champion says a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV would be uncomfortable for both sides, but it is essential for the future of the game.

“I’m impatient because I think we’ve got this window of opportunity to get it done, because both sides from a business perspective I wouldn’t say need to get it done, but it makes sense,” McIlroy explained.

“I sort of liken it to when Northern Ireland went through the peace process in the ’90s and the Good Friday Agreement, neither side was happy. Catholics weren’t happy, Protestants weren’t happy, but it brought peace and then you just sort of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated, right?

“That was in 1998 or whatever it was and 20, 25, 30 years ahead, my generation doesn’t know any different. It’s just this is what it’s always been like and we’ve never known anything but peace. That’s sort of my little way of trying to think about it and trying to make both sides see that there could be a compromise here.

“Yeah, it’s probably not going to feel great for either side, but if it’s a place where the game of golf starts to thrive again and we can all get back together, then I think that’s ultimately a really good thing.”

2024-05-08T16:39:13Z dg43tfdfdgfd