Rory McIlroy Has ‘Come a Long Way’ as a Leader on PGA Tour

In December, McIlroy shunned a lucrative tournament in Saudi Arabia that attracted other top golfers, citing Saudi human rights violations and adding: “There’s a morality to it.” Last month, McIlroy soundly rejected the advances of the Premier Golf League, a moneyed, upstart rival to the PGA Tour that other top pros had been careful not to overtly rebuff. McIlroy, the game’s top-ranked player, said he was defending every pro golfer’s right to autonomy.

With a blunt, “I’m out,” McIlroy definitively stalled the Premier Golf League’s budding momentum. He did not want to take the new league’s money, because, he said: “They can tell you what to do. If don’t take the money, they can’t.”

Earlier this week, Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, called McIlroy’s declaration, “a moment of leadership.”

Now weeks from his 31st birthday, McIlroy has become a notably frank, widely accessible and forthright voice on most every subject as it pertains to golf and the industry enveloping it. He does not expect that to change.

“At this point, I think I have somewhat of a responsibility — not just for myself but for the other players,” McIlroy said. “I have been outspoken about a number of issues in golf and I’m happy about that. I’ve been around the top of the game for a long time now and I want to be a voice out there that can at last put forth some good commentary on things.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/sports/golf/rory-mcilroy-tpc-saudi-arabia.html