McIlroy explains PGA Tour board resignation: "Something had to give”
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a stroke from the No. 12 tee during practice round 3 at Augusta National Golf Club, Wednesday, April 5, 2023.
Rory McIlroy confessed that "something had to give" as he explained his decision to resign abruptly from the PGA TOUR board this week.
The Holywood star, who opened with a rollercoaster one-under 71 in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai to trail leaders Matthieu Pavon, Nicolai Hojgaard and Julien Guerrier by four shots, explained that he was finding it a challenge to juggle his on and off course commitments.
"I just think just, I've got a lot going on in my life between my golf game, my family, my growing investment portfolio, my involvement in TGL and I just felt like something had to give," the world number two told Sky Sports Golf.
"I just didn't feel like I could commit the time and the energy into doing that, you know.
"I don't mind being busy. I just like being busy doing my own stuff. So something had to give and, you know, there's guys that are on that board that are spending a lot more time and a lot more energy on it than I am and you know, it's in good hands and it was I felt like it was the right time to step off."
McIlroy made five birdies and four bogeys in an erratic round, closing with a par-five at the 18th after twice bouncing out of the water hazard to share 15th place with the likes of fellow Holywood player Tom McKibbin.
"Little rusty," said McIlroy, who was three-under after seven holes before mixing bogeys at the eighth, 12th, 13th and 16th with birdies at the 10th and 15th.
"Nice start and then hit a couple of loose shots on the back nine and felt like I was scrambling pretty much the whole way there.
"So yeah, I mean overall, still only four back and it was a tricky day. I think the wind was up in the morning. It settled down a little bit from nine and then went up again for our back nine.
"So yeah, I can certainly do better. I know that. But it was nice to get the first round out of the way and hopefully something to build on."
As for his par at the 18th, his drive bounced out of the water into the mulch from where he again bounced out of the water with his second onto a bridge.
After finding the green in three and two-putting from long range for par, he was happy to avoid a big number after also struggling for par at the short 17th, where he bunkered his tee shot.
"I mean, I was hoping that my tee shot was going to miss the hazard right," he said. "But I didn't exactly think that it would do what it did. And then the second shot from the mulch, you know, it just sort of started left on me and yeah, I got another stroke of luck by coming back over the bridge.
"And I was a bit in two minds about whether to try to go left and cut it or go right. And I felt with the longer club by cutting that I had, there was a chance of clipping the bridge on the way through, so I took a wedge and just tried to hit it as hard as I could and ended up making a good five.
"So yeah, the up and down 17. And you know, the par on 18 was actually a pretty nice way to end the day."
French duo Pavon and Guerrier and Ryder Cup star Hojgaard carded five-under 67s to lead by a shot from Dane Jens Danthorp, Frenchman Antoine Rozner and Poland's Adrian Meronk with Tom Kim, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre a shot further back in a tie for seventh.
McKibbin made four birdies and three bogeys in his 71, finishing with a birdie four to share 15th with McIlroy.
World number three Jon Rahm bogeyed the last and shot 72 to match Shane Lowry, who sandwiched bogeys at the 13th and 16th between birdies at the first and 18th.
