Rory McIlroy chose a workout over a meeting held by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
The four-time major champion snubbed Monahan and wasn’t the only one, either. According to the Associated Press, only 25 pros attended Monahan’s meeting. When McIlroy finally arrived, he was drenched in sweat following a workout he put himself through.
The AP wrote, “The meeting was lacking in details and attendance, with only 25 players attending in the clubhouse at the TPC Southwind. Rory McIlroy returned from a workout — his shirt was drenched in sweat — and walked into the clubhouse a few minutes before it ended.”
McIlroy’s snub doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The Northern Ireland golfer has been a staunch opponent of the Saudi PIF-backed LIV Golf Tour since its inception. He was no fan of the merger and recently went on record as saying he’d rather retire than play for LIV Golf. The hate is real and so is the resentment towards Commissioner Monahan.
On Wednesday, Monahan did offer an apology for how that merger was handled. But he made clear that he still believes that the merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour will be for everyone’s benefit. You likely won’t find Rory or other top PGA Tour golfers who think so.
Needless to say, the no-show got a lot of attention online.
🚨🚨🚨
Tuesday night at TPC Southwind, only about 25 of 70 PGA Tour pros showed up to a meeting with Jay Monahan, according to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press. Rory McIlroy did not. Ricke Fowler attended and told AP "There’s still a whole lot that no one really knows, and…— Ron Mintz (@MintzGolf) August 9, 2023
👀"Only 25 players attended the meeting at this week's 70-man FedEx St Jude Championship, which saw Monahan offer very few details about the PGA Tour’s proposed partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)…Rory McIlroy (drenched in sweat) only showed up a few minutes…
— The McIlroy Legion (@RoryLegion_GC) August 9, 2023
First, I believe it's important to remember this was not a mandatory player meeting, so having players skip it is not a big surprise. Second, Rory is part of the leadership of the tour, alongside Tiger and others, and likely had advance knowledge of the bullet points Jay would go…
— Ben Hogan 1953 (@TinCup2020) August 9, 2023
Time for change at the top of the PGA Tour.
— R A 🐗🐗🐗 (@robbieaguilar) August 9, 2023
I’m glad we got confirmation on how sweaty Rory was. Important context. https://t.co/p93RgRzKuE
— Rory Tracker (@RoryTrackr) August 9, 2023
Good it’s not his job to go to meetings it’s his job to go and win https://t.co/dgISSjkty7
— Eaglesfan (@phillysports199) August 9, 2023
