The PGA Tour announced today that Rory McIlroy has been elected Chairman of the Player Advisory Council (PAC) by the Tour’s membership for the 2021 calendar year.
McIlroy, who prevailed over Russell Knox and Kevin Streelman in voting that ended February 11, will succeed Jordan Spieth as a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board next year, serving a three-year term (2022-24). He will join James Hahn (2020-22), Charley Hoffman (2021-23) and Kevin Kisner (2020-22) on the Policy Board.
McIlroy, 31, of Northern Ireland, joined the Tour in 2010. When he assumes his role of player director in 2022, McIlroy will become the first international player to serve on the Policy Board, which dates back to the Tour’s first season in 1969.
“I think it’s important to me,” McIlroy said at the Waste Management Phoenix Open two weeks ago. “I feel like I’ve been on Tour long enough now that I sort of know the ins and outs of the goings-on of day-to-day Tour life and the business of the Tour, and I think I have some pretty good ideas.
“I think with this new strategic partnership, alliance with the European Tour, you know, knowing those guys as I do, you know, being close with the leadership of the PGA Tour over here, I think I could help in some ways. I think I could facilitate something.”
As the only major sports league without a union, the members of the Tour rely on its PAC and Policy Board to represent them on issues with the Tour commissioner and his staff.
“If I am elected, I would be very honored to do the job,” McIlroy added. “It’s something that I feel quite passionately about. Yeah, hopefully people see that and they vote for me. It would be an honor to represent the players on the advisory board.”
In November, the Tour announced that the 2020 Player Advisory Council would extend its term through 2021 due to the role the PAC played in navigating the Tour’s response to the pandemic.
McIlroy is considered one of the most thoughtful and articulate speakers among the players, but his new role may not bode well for his chances to win a major championship. The job is thought to be a time commitment that has taken players, such as Davis Love III, away from the job at hand of making history between the ropes. Stewart Cink (2009) and Zach Johnson (2015) are among the few to win a major during their tenures on the board.
One former board member suggested that it would be a mistake for McIlroy to take up the responsibility of serving on the board. “If I gave any advice to these guys it’s to stay off of boards, stay out of charities and play golf, make history,” said the former player. “Do the rest of the noise amplification stuff later.”
Some players used to call it the curse of the player board. When told of its reputation, McIlroy seem unfazed.
“No, I didn’t know that,” he told Golfweek. “Usually the guys that have served haven’t been good enough to win majors. It’s hard to win majors, there are four a year. But I’m happy to do it. It’s a few meetings a year, it’s not that big of a time commitment. It’s definitely not an excuse for not winning a major.”
2021 Player Advisory Council
Ryan Armour
Paul Casey
David Hearn
Harry Higgs
Billy Horschel
Zach Johnson
Russell Knox
Anirban Lahiri
Peter Malnati
Rory McIlroy (Chairman)
Ryan Palmer
Jon Rahm
Kevin Streelman
Justin Thomas
Harold Varner III
Johnson Wagner