Tiger Woods Among The Players Who Reportedly Voted Against Rory McIlroy's Return To PGA Tour Policy Board

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Rory McIlroy explained that there was a "subset of people who were uncomfortable" with him rejoining the PGA Tour policy board, and it seems like Tiger Woods was among the group that didn't want to see him retake his seat at the table.

McIlroy, who abruptly resigned from the Tour policy board in November 2023, was expected to return to his post sooner rather than later with Webb Simpson resigning with the request that the Northern Irishman would be his replacement. Given that he is the most influential player in golf not named Tiger Woods, it appeared McIlroy's return to the board would be a smooth process.

Woods, and other players on the board, said not so fast.

According to The Telegraph, five players, minus Simpson, held the power to bring McIlroy back onto the board. Still, Patrick Cantlay, Woods, and another unnamed player director voted 3-2 against the re-inclusion of McIlroy. The third vote had to come from one of Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, or Peter Malnati as they round out the six players currently only on the board.

McIlroy did not name any individuals who were "uncomfortable" with him potentially rejoining the board, but did insist that there were "no hard feelings" after he was voted down.

Signs Point To Cantlay Shutting Down Rory's Return To The PGA Tour Policy Board

Imagn/USAToday (Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network - Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

Plenty of signs pointed to Cantlay being a player against McIlroy returning to the board. McIlroy, Cantlay, and the American's caddie, Joe LaCava, had a serious back-and-forth that spilled into the parking lot at the 2023 Ryder Cup. On top of that, McIlroy called Cantlay a "di-k" weeks after the drama during Team Europe's victory.

"Joe LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddying for Tiger, and now he’s caddying for that d-ck he’s turned into a … I still wasn’t in a great headspace," McIlroy explained in December.

Woods not liking the idea of McIlroy returning to the policy board is a bit more of a surprise, but it may have to do with their differing viewpoints about the framework agreement between the Saudi PIF, the sole funder of LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour.

After being the most vocal LIV critic for the better part of a year, McIlroy is now of the opinion that the Tour needs to find a way to work with the Saudis, even after the PGA Tour struck a $3 billion investment deal with an American group. After the Tour received its influx of cash from American investors, Woods stated, "Financially, we don't [need that] that right now" when asked about Saudi PIF investing in the Tour.

Not long after his quote, however, Woods was among the group of players to meet with Saudi PIF representatives in the Bahamas earlier this year and said the talks were "positive."  

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.