Rory McIlroy Won’t Rejoin The PGA Tour Board And His Beef With Patrick Cantlay May Be To Blame

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There’s been no love lost between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay since they butted heads at the Ryder Cup, and it would appear that feud played a role in the Northern Irishman announcing he will not be rejoining the PGA Tour board just weeks after it appeared to be a done deal.

Rory McIlroy has had plenty of beef on his plate over the past couple of years thanks to his issues with LIV Golf, and in 2023, he got to add an extra helping thanks to what unfolded after the Ryder Cup kicked off in Italy.

There was already plenty of drama surrounding Patrick Cantlay at the event thanks to rumors he refused to wear a hat because he was mad he wasn’t compensated to participate in the clash. That led to his caddy Joe LaCava waving his hat on the green to mock the controversy, but in doing so, he attracted the ire of McIlroy and sparked a confrontation that spilled into the parking lot.

Rory didn’t attempt to make any amends in the wake of the incident, as he decided to call Cantlay a “d—“ in an interview where he discussed what went down. In January, the man at the receiving end of that remark tried to downplay things while asserting they “had a really good working relationship” as members of the PGA Tour policy board, but it’s hard not to wonder if that’s actually the case based on a recent development.

McIlroy resigned from the PGA Tour board in November 2023 in order to devote more of his attention to his game, but it appeared he was slated to make his grand return when Webb Simpson announced his intentions to step down under the condition he was replaced by Rory.

His return was contingent on the rest of the members of the board approving the proposal, but McIlroy revealed it wasn’t in the card while discussing what transpired on Wednesday prior to the start of the Wells Fargo Championship.

Here’s what he had to say:

“It got pretty complicated and pretty messy, and I think with the way it happened, it opened up some old wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before. 

There was a subset of people on the board who were uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason. I think the best course of action if there’s some people on there that aren’t comfortable with me coming back on, then I think Webb just stays on and sees out his term…”

McIlroy didn’t explicitly blame Cantlay for blocking his return, but golf reporter Dan Rapaport asserts he’s cemented himself as “the loudest voice in the room” when it comes to his work with the board and suggested it’s very, very likely he was the person who led the charge when it came to challenging Rory’s appointment.

We are truly living in The Golden Age of pro golf drama.