Rory McIlroy not ready to make Keith Pelley judgement yet as pro goes after him

Rory McIlroy gives verdict on Keith Pelley's exit while DP World Tour pro hits out at the Canadian's work.

11 Jan 2024

Rory McIlroy not ready to make Keith Pelley judgement yet as pro goes after him

Rory McIlroy believes Keith Pelley has done a great job as CEO of the DP World Tour but that he will not fully pass judgement on his work until 2025, following an interview with Golf Digest.

McIlroy, who fired a stunning 9-under 62 in his first round of the year armed with his brand new TaylorMade Qi10 LS Driver at the Dubai Invitational, gave his verdict on today's shock news that Pelley was stepping down from his lead role in an interview with Digest's John Huggan.

The DP World Tour confirmed the chief executive's exit on 11 January, which just happened to be his birthday.

Pelley, 60, has agreed to return to his homeland and become the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.

While McIlroy considers Pelley has "played it really well" in recent years in his role as CEO of the DP World Tour, he thinks it will take another 18 months to best judge how well the Canadian did in his position.

That is down to the pending framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf's bankrollers the Saudi Public Investment Fund being further extended, and the unknown territory the professional game is heading in.

McIlroy told Golf Digest:

"The journey the European Tour has been on for the last five or six years has been navigated really well by Keith. He’s played it really well. He was always able to see the bigger picture. Keith is a smart guy. People listen to him. Not everyone in golf is capable of that. He’s been great in that sense. We’ll be able to judge just how good he has been in maybe 18 months time, when we know how everything has fallen into place."

Earlier this week, McIlroy pushed for a World Tour to unfold in the pro game.

Pelley and Slumbers walk out

It's been a whirlwind start to 2024 with two huge pending exits in the game.

Just several hours before news broke that Pelley was exiting stage left, the R&A confirmed CEO Martin Slumbers is stepping down from his role at the end of the year.

Slumbers has been at the helm of the R&A for nine years whereas Pelley's tenure has lasted eight years.

Pelley will be replaced by Guy Kinnings.

Kinnings' current role is the executive director of the Ryder Cup.

He will assume the role on 2 April.

Whilst Pelley has led the Tour through the pandemic, introduced the Rolex Series and the G4D Golfers with a Disability Tour, the businessman has come under heavy fire from professional golfers and fans.

Pelley has been accused of turning the DP World Tour into an official feeder circuit for the PGA Tour through their 'strategic alliance'. That is primarily because the DP World Tour handed its top 10 performing stars on the 2023 Race to Dubai standings (who were not already exempt) over to the PGA Tour for 2024.

Which 10 players earned PGA Tour cards for 2024?

Those players included the likes of Ryan Fox, Adrian Meronk and European Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre.

DP World Tour pro hits out at Pelley

One anonymous DP World Tour pro certainly appears more than happy to see the back of Pelley judging by his comments to Digest.

The Tour pro said of Pelley's work:

"The older guys are happy about the deal Pelley made to send 10 DP World Tour players to the PGA Tour at the end of each season. They get rid of 10 really good players from the top of the pile, which gives them a chance to move up or stay on tour. Fine. But from the outside that reflects badly on what was once a great tour. For example, not that long ago a Spanish Open in Madrid was packed with top players. It was a proper field. Now not so much. Too often the television people are at events like that just because they want to cover the Ryder Cup every two years. There is a level of indifference now."

How will the DP World Tour cope without Pelley? Will their pending framework with the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF come to fruition? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.

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