Players Championship: Rory McIlroy tired of uncertainty

After Jay Monahan’s press conference regarding the future of the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy agrees with his decision to stay in the lead of the Tour and the new PGA Tour Enterprises. In McIlroys Wednesday press conference, prior to the Players Championship, he emphasises the importance of bringing the game back together and move on. McIlroy oppend up about his difficulties winning another Major and if he thinks he can capture his next Major-Title this year.

Can Rory McIlroy win another Major?

Here’s his opinion on how the pressure added up over the last ten years without a Major title: “It does, but then at the same time, I look at my record in the majors over the last couple of years, and I’ve definitely started to perform much more consistently in them.”

“Look, I’m under no illusion that the clock is ticking and it has been 10 years since I’ve won one of them, and I’ve had chances, and those just haven’t went my way. I just need to keep putting myself in those positions, and sooner or later it’s going to happen.”

Rory McIlroy defends Jay Monahan

“You look at what Jay has done since he took over,” McIlroy said in the Wednesday press conference in TPC Sawgrass. “The media rights deal, navigating us through COVID, the strategic alliance with the DP World Tour. I would say creating PGA Tour Enterprises, we were just able to accept a billion and a half dollars in the business, people can nit-pick and say he didn’t do this right or didn’t do that right, but if you actually step back and look at the bigger picture, I think the PGA Tour is in a far stronger position than when Jay took over.”

Monahan spoke about the new alliance with the SSG (Strategic Sports Group) and the new funds coming with the newly created PGA Tour Enterprises. Tough informations regarding the PIF are highly requested Monahan did hold back and just stated, that meetings were “accelerating”.

Rory McIlroy: “We need to get this thing over and done”

Like many fans and players, Rory McIlroy urges the policy board and PGA Tour Enterprises to come to a conclusion and to “get this thing over and done”, falling right in line with his latest statements about the LIV Golf Tour and Liv players getting involved in the Ryder Cup and a potential World Tour.

“I feel grateful that I was on the PGA Tour board at the point in time when I was. I feel like it will stand to me down the line if I ever want to get deeper into the business side of things, whether that’s in golf or in other domains. It’s different now, though. You’ve got two boards on Tour. One is really a business board, and sort of that priority is growing the growth of the business of the PGA Tour, and then the policy board, which I was on, was about making rules and slow play and whatever else.”

“The business board to me would be something — if an opportunity came along in the future and I felt like it was the right time, would maybe be something that I would like to get involved in again.”

“We need to improve fan experience”

Like Jay Monahan, Rory McIlroy talked about enhancing the fan experience. “Yeah, so to me, like this is the problem with a members’ organization. Things are created for the members. Then once those things are created, you’ve got to go sell those things to fans, sponsors, media.” 

“To me, that seems a little backwards. I think what needs to happen is you need to create things for the fans, for the sponsors, for the media, and then you have to go sell that to the players, tell them to get on board with that, because if they get on board and we’re all part of the business now, if the business does better, we do better. That seems pretty simple to me.”