‘There was an Alpha in there; and it’s not me’ – Rory On Tiger’s Presence at Players Only Meeting

The players only meeting this week has been the talk of the golfing world.

Tiger Woods was seen flying in with Rickie Fowler to attend the meeting, gingerly departing the jet and (one would assume) taking his seat at the head of the table. His presence makes a difference.

🗣️ “His voice carries further than anyone else’s in the game of golf”

Rory McIlroy has praised Tiger Woods for taking part in a meeting discussing the threat LIV golf poses to the PGA Tour⛳ pic.twitter.com/hFUlRoBMDd

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 17, 2022

World #3 Rory McIlroy was interviewed afterward; explaining that Tiger Woods’ presence at the meeting demonstrates how much he cares about the future of the Tour, despite his best years being behind him. Rory also said rather pointedly, the Tour has had it easy for 20 years. Tiger Woods was the star. Now, we have ‘a bunch of great players,’ but as Rory, himself said, ‘we’re not Tiger Woods’.

This speaks volumes. Arguably the best player of the last decade, realizing his impact on the game pales in comparison to Tiger and recognizing that this requires a change in approach from the relatively stagnant PGA Tour. Relative, of course, to the explosion that is LIV Golf.

Tiger Woods has landed where he hopped in a car with Rickie Fowler. Although the audio isn’t clear, Fowler expressed concerns with Tiger driving. He said “Seriously? Be fucking careful this time.”

pic.twitter.com/O7DnvNBlgP

— PGA TUOR (@pgatuor) August 16, 2022

McIlroy stated that Tiger is the hero that is looked up to by all and that his voice carries further than anyone else’s in the game. If Tiger were to take a more vocal stance against LIV, the message is that it would take a brave golfer to defy him. His main gripe in public was appearance money regardless of performance. Tiger was asked at St. Andrews what his thoughts were on the matter, and he simply said that if money is guaranteed, there is no incentive to practice. Simple.

In the interview, Rory signed off by saying that when the best professional golfers were gathered in the room, “it was clear that there was an alpha in there; and it’s not me.”

Feel free to hazard a guess who dictated the conversation.

Cover Image Via Twitter