Rory McIlroy revealed that he recently had a long telephone conversation with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp about his plans for a press conference. The star golfer added that the developments were positive, but it was not easy to “turn the big ship around” with too many cooks in the kitchen.

On Wednesday, March 11, Brian Rolapp addressed the media in a presser ahead of the Players Championship. He spoke about bringing some changes regarding the scheduling, larger field and doubling the number of signature events.

During the Wednesday pre-event press conference of the Players Championship, Rory McIlroy was asked about his opinion on Rolapp’s comments.

“I spoke to Brian for about an hour,” he said. “I was supposed to meet with Brian on Monday night up here, so I spoke to him for about an hour on the phone on Monday. So he just sort of took me through everything that he was going to say to you guys today.”

“I think it’s all, it’s all pretty positive,” he added. “I think he’s got into this job and realized how difficult it is to turn this big ship around, and there’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen and a lot of opinions. So he’s obviously navigating that. But, yeah, I think what he said today was — it’s obviously a really good direction of where the Tour should be going, I think.”

Rory McIlroy shares a big update on his back ahead of the Players Championship 2026

Last week, Rory McIlroy was forced to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a back issue. However, the five-time major champion shared that it was better than before and was looking to play at TPC Sawgrass.

“I hit up until a 6-iron on the range there and it felt okay. I’ve got about, I don’t know, is it 20 hours until I tee off, or until I’m supposed to tee off tomorrow. So, yeah, we’ll see. I’m taking it sort of hour by hour. But it feels better. That’s all I can say. Like I couldn’t stand to address the ball on Saturday morning on the range at Bay Hill, and it’s obviously better than that.”

“So, yeah, probably a game-time decision, but all indications are pointing in the right direction, so hopefully good night tonight. The drugs are working wonders, and then just keep it going from there,” he added.

Rory McIlroy is paired with Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama for the first round of the Players Championship. The trio will tee off on Thursday, March 12, from the first hole at 1:42 pm ET.