Rory McIlroy did not join back the PGA Tour Advisory Council despite several rumors of him replacing Webb Simpson. As is well-known by now, some members did not particularly want him back. After a disappointing series of events, Jimmy Dunne, one of the key architects of the PGA Tour-PIF merger, resigned from the board of directors on May 13. This came as a tremor of shock to the golf world.

With him resigning from the council, only four independent directors remain – Ed Herlihy, Mark Flaherty, Joe Gorder, and Mary Meeker. On the other hand, there are six player directors – Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Jordan Spieth, and Webb Simpson. This was one of the reasons that Dunne quit. When asked about the resignation, however, Tiger Woods shared that he was equally shocked to hear the news.

Tiger Woods states that there will be no progress without argument

For Tiger Woods, things are different as to what Dunne believes. During a presser at the Valhalla on Tuesday, ahead of the practice round for the PGA Championship, he revealed that he still believes that Dunne was a very important part of the merger, and is still shocked as to why he resigned. However, when asked if the player directors really could forsake the future of golf, Mr. T was pretty confident with his answer. He said, “Well, the PGA TOUR is for the players and by the players. So, we have an influence and there’s roles for the player directors and there’s roles for the independents.”

His statement came in a hint of the fact that there was beef on the inside. Be it Rory McIlroy not getting back his position, Dunne wanting to resign because of the players, or at the moment, the ongoing talk about what the status of the merger is. He added, “We’re trying to make the PGA TOUR the best it can be a day in and day out. That’s one of the reasons why we have arguments and we have disagreements, but we want to do what’s best for everyone in golf and the TOUR.”

Tiger Woods further went on to state how he believes that without the conflicts that are occurring, there will be no progress, whatever minimum that is there at the moment. He concluded, “Without those kind of conflicts I don’t think there’s going to be that much — the progress is not going to be there. So it’s been good.” 

As for the concern of the matter involving Rory McIlroy, after his resignation in November, instead of becoming part of the PAC, he was made a part of the transaction subcommittee, which will be part of the conversations between the PGA Tour and the PIF. However, he will still have no vote when a deal is presented to the policy board. This, once again raises questions among the fans. Well Jay Monahan himself cleared out the air of doubt regarding the same.

Jay Monahan says: McIlroy’s omission ‘is a matter of adherence to our governance process’

Although there have been a lot of differences of opinion among all the board members, there are only two sides to the proceedings of the merger. Members resigning state that there has been no advancement, while the current members believe that they are on the route of progress. Jay Monahan sides with the current members of the board. According to him, the merger status is at a very crucial time, and they cannot afford to have new members who aren’t on the board at the moment.

Given that McIlroy was not a part of the proceedings all these months, he knew very little about what was going on, and what the current verdict was. In a situation like this, experience is better than explaining. He said that it only made sense that Webb Simpson continued serving in his position until the merger was passed. That is what according to him, is ‘the best interest of our players, our partners, and, most importantly, our fans.’

Now the question is, is there progress in the merger status, which is why the members are so stern right now? Or Jimy Dunne stands correct, that there is barely any progress in the process? Well, guess only time will tell.