Jon Rahm Emphatically Shuts Down Idea Of Joining PGA Tour Policy Board After Rory McIlroy's Surprise Exit
Rory McIlroy resigned as a player director on the PGA Tour policy board on Tuesday citing both professional and personal commitments for his decision. Jon Rahm, arguably the most influential player on Tour not named Tiger Woods or McIlroy, would make sense as his replacement, but he has absolutely zero interest in the role.
McIlroy's exit came as a surprise given how vocal he has been in regards to LIV Golf and the ongoing merger talks between the Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund. His resignation came one day after the board's quarterly meeting that was followed by a memo shared to players outlining PIF merger discussions as well as outside investors showing interest in getting involved with the Tour.
Simply put, McIlroy was the mouthpiece for all things pro-PGA Tour, and he was great at it, and now he's just...gone.
As for who fills in the gap left by McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, and Woods will nominate his successor. Rahm rather emphatically signaled to the board that it shouldn't even bother giving him a call about the role as he is completely out on the idea.
"Oh, you won't see me there. Absolutely no chance. I've been asked a couple times if I have any interest, and I'm not going to spend, I don't know how many meetings they have, but they are six, seven, hour-plus long. I'm not here for that," Rahm explained ahead of this week's DP World Tour Championship.
Jon Rahm won't be replacing Rory McIlroy on the PGA Tour policy board, he's made that abundantly clear. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Six to seven hours worth of meetings, even if there are only a handful a year, does sound miserable.
Rahm admitted he didn't know exactly why McIlroy stepped away, but he completely understands why anyone would.
"As regards to Rory, he's obviously been put in a situation where a lot has been expected of him, and I don't know the exact reason why he left the board. But I certainly wouldn't blame somebody like him to just want to focus a bit more on his game and his family and enjoy the bit of time he's truly earned. Again, it's a big commitment for somebody to be part of it," Rahm continued.
"Did I expect it? Not really. But again, I can understand why somebody would do, especially with everything that's involved."
McIlroy hasn't shared any specifics on why he decided to step down from the board, but he did reveal he has plans to move his family to London in the coming years. It's hard to imagine his resignation has anything at all to do with that, however.
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