5 Things We Learnt About Rory This Week

Rory McIlroy on his resignation from the PGA Tour board, a new driver and how he rates his 2024 season

1 The PGA Tour announced on Tuesday that Rory had decided to resign from the players' policy board. In the past 18 months McIlroy has been front and centre as the Tour's leading light with the ongoing threat, and possible merger, with LIV Golf and he's now decided to step down with negotiations ongoing.

"I've got a lot going on in my life between my golf game, my family and my growing investment portfolio, my involvement in TGL, and I just felt like something had to give. I just didn't feel like I could commit the time and the energy into doing that. I don't mind being busy, but I just like being busy doing my own stuff. 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. It's in good hands and I felt like it was the right time to step off."

Those still on the board – Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman and Peter Malnati – will now choose a replacement for McIlroy.

2 This week Rory was crowned the Race to Dubai champion for the fifth time, before a ball had even been struck. He is now one behind Seve and three behind Colin Montgomerie and he admitted that he had put more focus on topping the money list in recent years.

"I went through a period in my career where I didn't prioritise it. I won my third one in 2015 and if you look at 2016 through to 2021, I probably could have done more to try to prioritise it. The last couple of years, especially last year, I wanted to win both, the FedExCup, and I guess post-2015 I prioritised America a little bit more, I won three FedExCups in that time frame and I've also won a couple other Race to Dubais. It's hard to do it on both tours. Only a handful of guys have ever really done it. You know, I'm fortunate enough to be one of those but I've been able to figure out how to excel on both sides of the pond."

3 McIlroy of course didn't add a fifth Major this year but it's still been a great year with the wins in Dubai and Scotland and of course the four points in Rome. And if there was one regret it would be missing out on the US Open where Wyndham Clark came through.

"I'd probably give it a 7/10. Played good golf. I had the two wins. I had my best-ever Ryder Cup, which feels like a win to me, especially coming off the back of Whistling Straits. So I've been happy with the year. If I looked back on one thing, I'll rue that miss at LA (Country Club), I had a great opportunity there to pick up another Major and I didn't. But I'm still not going to let that take away from the fact that it's been another really consistent, solid year with some really good performances. I'm feeling like my game is in as good of shape as its ever been."

4 Rory was using a new TaylorMade driver this week in Dubai with the Qi10 LS chief making its way into his bag. The club features some of the similar looks of previous TaylorMade Stealth drivers with the angled rear weight port, the speed pocket, a sliding weight at the front part of the sole and the carbonwood technology.

“I still want to go out and try to win the golf tournament, but it could be a good time to test it out in competition.”

New driver for Rory 👀 #DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/lYHdc5kPSV

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 13, 2023

5 McIlroy also spoke of the 10 cards that are being given out this week with the DP World Tour's leading names heading to the PGA Tour in 2024. But McIlroy claims that it's a natural way to go in the current climate.

"It's a formalising of the pathway that's always sort of been there. I got into the top 50 in the world at the end of 2008, and in 2009, I was going to start in the Middle East and then I was going to the States and play the Match Play, the Honda. It's always been there. It's just a bit more official.

"The reason that the European Tour started with as to give professional golfers opportunities to play golf tournaments and earn a living. So if you look at what the mission statement is for the DP World Tour, it's to give professional golfers opportunities to play their sport, make a living, and there's no better place to have opportunity and to make a living than what's going on on the PGA Tour. I think it's an amazing thing that's happened."