Rory McIlroy has created PGA Tour history by becoming the first non-American born elected chairman of the PGA Tour’s Players Advisory Committee. He automatically joins James Hahn (2020-22), Charley Hoffman (2021-23) and Kevin Kisner (2020-22) on the main PGA Tour policy board and is the first non-American to serve on that committee too, which dates back to the tour’s first season in 1969.
I’m sure the strategic alliance between the PGA Tour and European Tour had something to do with peaking Rory’s interest in the chairmanship role and it may turn out to be useful for the ET (especially) to have somebody on the inside, so to speak, but what will it do for Rory?
While there is no doubting McIlroy’s popularity amongst his fellow players surely he should not be taking on these ‘distractions’ when he has far more important ‘fish to fry’: winning the career grand slam and returning to the No. 1 position in the World Golf Rankings, for example. Being involved in committee work cannot possibly help him achieve those landmark goals, that have a limited time constraint in which to fulfil them.
Getting to know more about the Tour’s business is all very well but how can making decisions regarding COVID precautions, for example, help him to play better? At this stage of his career anything that gets in the way of winning major championships should be sidestepped.
He will end up having to listen to the sometimes daft ideas, complaints and whinges of his closest rivals as well as those hanging on to their playing privileges by a thread. By everybody having his ear and he being their mouthpiece, Rory will lose his aura; something that is irreplaceable.
Having a brain that is ‘too active’ and wanting to ‘fix the world’ is the golfer’s curse. Is there ever the slightest chance of Tiger thinking that way? Rory would be far better off practicing his wedge play and putting. Even in the amateur game at club level, it’s very rare to see a scratch golfer on a committee or council. They simply haven’t the time to spare.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Rory fan but this will not help in terms of more titles and future majors wins. It’s beginning to look as if Rory may have lost the ‘all-consuming desire’, laser focus, tunnel vision and killer instinct to succeed on the field of play?
Rory’s inability of late to produce his best over 72-holes might well be down to allowing himself to be distracted by matters that really should not be concerning him? For someone to be doing this when still at his playing peak is an own goal.
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