McIlroy welcomes Woods to board as Maguire hopes Baltusrol reverse will pay off eventually

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy might have his eye on a record fourth FedExCup win and another $18 million pay day but he’s already counting his blessings after Tiger Woods took the pressure off the top players by joining the circuit’s policy board last week.

Ranked third in the standings behind Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler for the first playoff event, the $20 million FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, McIlroy is thrilled Woods has joined him on the board.

In the wake of the PGA Tour’s deal with Saudi Arabia’s PIF, no changes can be made without the consent of the players as part of new governance and transparency drive with Woods now set to become far more outspoken.

"It's a great addition," said McIlroy, who confessed he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” when it emerged that the Tour had done a secret deal with the Saudis. "The player over the last 20 years that's left the biggest legacy on the game, for him to be involved in the discussions around the future of professional golf and what that may look like I think is very important.

"Tiger has stepped up for all of us on tour, and I think he realises that the players that are on the policy board were trying to play regular golf, and at the same time try to navigate all these different things, as well.

"He's maybe got a little more time on his hands than we do. For him to step up and sort of take a little bit of the load off us is very much appreciated.”

McIlroy is joined in Memphis by Seamus Power, who is 29th in the standings and looking to make a big impression on Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald by making the top 30 who contest the Tour Championship.

The top 50 make the BMW Championship next week and the West Waterford man knows he needs to play well to boost his chances of winning one of six automatic spots or one of six wildcards.

In the women’s game, Leona Maguire believes she can learn from her final-day disappointment at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and contend for her first major in the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath, where she’s joined by Stephanie Meadow and amateur Anna Dawson from Elm Park.

The Cavan star took a one-shot lead into the final round of the second women's major of the year at Baltusrol in June but having won the Meijer LPGA Classic the previous week, she admitted she ran out of gas en route to a closing 74 and a tie for 11th.

After finishing 31st in the US Women’s Open and 42nd in the Evian Championship, she’s looking to become the sixth successive first-time major winner in the women’s game.

Leona Maguire of Ireland speaks in a press conference during the pro-am prior to the AIG Women's Open at Walton Heath Golf Club on August 09, 2023 in Tadworth, England. (Photo by R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

"I think at Baltusrol, I put three really good rounds together," Maguire said. "I think I had had seven rounds in the 60s or something leading into that day. I was playing really nice golf.

"I think the win the week before took a lot out of me. I was quite drained come Sunday and just didn't have enough in the tank to get over the line.

"Knowing I could put myself in contention, it was obviously a new learning experience, to be in that situation in the lead last group Saturday and the lead last group Sunday, with the emotions and everything that went along with that.

"I'd like to think that if I get myself in that position again, I'll approach it a little differently and I'll have learned from that experience."

 Maguire will be joined in the field by compatriot Anna Foster, who came through Monday's 36-hole final qualifying at Hankley Common, with Foster following on from fellow amateur Aine Donegan qualifying for the US Women's Open earlier this year.

"I haven't met Anna, but great achievement for her to qualify, to come through the qualifier," Maguire added. "I'm sure she was watching Áine [Donegan] at the US Women's Open and trying to emulate what she did at Pebble [Beach].

"I was fortunate to play in the AIG Women's Open a few times as an amateur and it's obviously a big experience. I would say and try to enjoy it as much as she can, and hopefully she's got quite a few more of these ahead of her. It's great to see some more Irish girls coming up through the ranks.

"I think golf is a very respected sport in Ireland. It gets a lot of coverage. A lot of people are interested in it. I think you'll see that with the Irish Women's Open in a few weeks, then the Irish Open in a few weeks' time.

 "People are very passionate and knowledgeable about their golf in Ireland and I think the reporting on that fits in with that as well."