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

Rory McIlroy may be the face of the PGA Tour and the most-popular player in the sport not named Tiger Woods, but that doesn't mean he's loved by everyone, and that includes some on the Tour's policy board.

McIlroy, who joined the policy board in 2022, abruptly resigned from his position in November 2023, citing professional and personal commitments. Being the unofficial spokesperson for the PGA Tour during the early days of its battle with LIV Golf and the Saudi PIF had clearly and understandably taken a toll on McIlroy. Tiger Woods joined the board prior to his resignation and Jordan Spieth slid into the seat left by McIlroy.

All seemed to be okay from a board perspective, at least numbers and name-recognition wise, despite there essentially being zero progress made regarding the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF.

That's what made last month's news of McIlroy rejoining the policy board surprising. Webb Simpson was expected to resign, with the sole request being that McIlroy return and take his seat at the table.

McIlroy's return as requested by Simpson felt inevitable given that Rory has been the posterboy for the Tour for a decade-plus and carries one of the most-influential voices in professional golf.

(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Not so fast.

During his press conference ahead of this week's Wells Fargo Championship, McIlroy explained that he won't be returning to the board and that it is expected Simpson would remain in his position.

"It just got pretty complicated and pretty messy," McIlroy explained.

"With the way it happened, it opened up some wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before. And I think there was a subset of people on the board who were uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason."

Reasons To Believe Patrick Cantlay Wouldn't Want Rory McIlroy To Return To The Board

While he didn't name any names, it's fair to suggest that Patrick Cantlay, who is on the policy board, was among the "subset of people" who weren't exactly thrilled with the idea of McIlroy reclaiming his seat.

When most hear the names McIlroy and Cantlay together, their minds immediately go to last year's Ryder Cup in Italy when the two, and more specifically Cantlay's caddie Joe LaCava, had a run-in that nearly transpired into a fight in the parking lot.

The differences between the two have only evolved since then.

A few weeks after he and the Europeans embarrassed Cantlay and the U.S. in the Ryder Cup, McIlroy was quoted saying "my relationship with Cantlay is average at best" before going scorched earth.

"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 told the Irish Independant.

Cantlay took the high road - and softer stance - after McIlroy's quote about him being a "di-k" made the rounds, suggesting that it was taken out of context.

Patrick Cantlay May Be Calling The Shots

After McIlroy's resignation from the board, it was widely rumored that Cantlay had very much taken the head seat at the table, and a new report shows that there is some serious truth behind those rumors.

Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

In a story published by Golfweek on Tuesday, a day before McIlory explained he wouldn't be rejoining the board, an anonymous Tour player shared an exchange he had with Cantlay ahead of the Zurich Classic two weeks ago.

Cantlay made it clear that a McIlroy return to the board was very much not on the table, at least not at that exact point in time.

"I asked Cantlay, Is Rory back on the board? He said, No. But Patrick is really smart so I thought about how I phrased the question," the veteran player told the outlet.

"Maybe he was just answering based on this very moment. I said, Pat, I apologize, maybe I asked the wrong question. Did Webb step down? He said, Webb has not stepped down from the board. Then I went higher up and got the full story. Now, it does sound like things change daily out here, maybe hourly, so you never know."

In the same story, an anonymous tournament director talked candidly about Cantlay "ruining the Tour."

"We need Rory back on the board. Had he stayed on, he could’ve neutered Cantlay. He’s the only one with the power to neuter Cantlay. We need Rory to try to keep Cantlay from ruining the Tour," the tournament director said. "Webb is too nice. A lot of people at the Tour at a very high level are thrilled that Rory is going back on the board for that reason."

It's worth noting, amid what appears to be real drama between McIlroy and Cantlay, that McIlroy has spent the last handful of months talking about how a global tour that mirrors the Champions League in European soccer would be his dream scenario. That idea likely isn't music to the PGA Tour's ears, therefore other powers that be could have also played a role in keeping McIlroy off the board.

While the story of McIlroy being denied a spot back on the board continues this new run we're seeing in professional golf where we're getting unprecedented looks behind the curtain, it also continues what feels like a never-ending streak of stories and talking points that have absolutely nothing to do with the golf actually being played.

Professional golf has long been messy. When it could be cleaned up remains to be a question nobody can even begin to answer.