Tiger Woods‘ relationship with Rory McIlroy has ‘soured over recent months’ amid reports that the four-time major champion won’t rejoin the PGA Tour board due to other golfers feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with his potential return.

That’s according to Golf Digest, which claimed on Wednesday that the two former No. 1s ‘remain cordial’ but have opposing views on the future of professional golf, leading to a fall out of sorts.

On the same day, McIlroy, who stepped down from the PGA Tour board in November, revealed that a plan to replace Webb Simpson was met with resistance from board members.

Simpson, one of six player-directors, recently offered to give up his seat – but only if McIlroy were to replace him. McIlroy would have needed board approval to be reinstated to his old position.

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But McIlroy said ahead of the Wells Fargo Championship that conversations surrounding his potential return became ‘pretty complicated and messy,’ which reminded him of why he left in the first place.

‘I think with the way it happened it opened up some old wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before,’ McIlroy said. ‘I think there was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason.’

McIlroy’s reinstatement would have been viewed as a chance to help improve the PGA Tour’s stalled negotiations with the Saudi financial backers of LIV Golf.

The world’s No. 2 player said when he stepped down he could no longer commit the time and energy that board work required with the PGA Tour trying to finalize an agreement with the Public Investment Fund.

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Unable to finalize a deal by the end of last year, the PGA Tour brought in Strategic Sports Group as a minority investor. That deal could be worth as much as $3 billion.

‘I put my hand up to help and it was, I wouldn’t say it was rejected, (but) it was a complicated process to get through to put me back on there,’ McIlroy said of potentially returning the board.

‘So that’s all fine, no hard feelings and we’ll all move on.’

Simpson said he now plans to finish out his three-year term on the board. He said he offered to give up his seat to McIlroy because he’s a ‘global superstar’ and would give Europeans a needed voice in major tour decisions.

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‘Rory always had great ideas of how do we move forward, how do we get the love and attention from fans back from where we had it maybe two years ago, how do we grow our business, all things related to the PGA Tour,’ Simpson said.

Tiger Woods was back out on the golf course on Monday after the 82-time PGA Tour winner competed in the Pro-Member event at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida

Rory McIlroy earned the bragging rights over his close friend and business partner Tiger Woods, as the pair competed in the Seminole Pro-Member in Florida on Monday.

The Pro-Am event included a whole host of names from the world of golf and business, while seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady took headline billing alongside Woods and McIlroy. Woods was partnered up with PGA of America CEO, Seth Waugh whilst McIlroy had the chance to play alongside his father, Gerry.

And whilst neither pair were able to win the event outright, the McIlroy duo were able to get the better of Woods and Waugh, finishing a single shot ahead of the all-American pair in the net (after handicaps) leaderboard in a tie for 22nd.

Overall, Erik Van Rooyen and John Pinkman claimed the title on the net side of the event, whilst Mackenzie Hughes and Frank Edwards carded the best gross score. For Woods however it would no doubt have been nice to get back out on the golf course following yet another set back last month.

The 15-time major champion made his first PGA Tour start of the year at the Genesis Invitational, but has often been the case in recent years, his tournament was cut short. Woods was forced to withdraw from the second round in Los Angeles in February, but this time it centred around illness rather than injury.

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With Woods seemingly comfortable with the ankle injury that had kept him out for almost eight months in 2023, he was then taken ill with influenza and forced to pull out just six holes into day two. The tournament host was seen being taken from course to the clubhouse in a golf cart, and appeared visibly unwell.An ambulance arrived on the scene in the aftermath of the withdrawal, but Woods left some time after by car. Woods then took to social media to provide an update on his health to fans, with those watching on once again fearing the worst over his PGA Tour future.”I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational due to illness, which we now know is influenza,” he tweeted. ‘I am resting and feeling better. Good luck to the players this weekend. I’m disappointed to not be there and want to thank Genesis and all the fans for the support.”

Woods had previously announced that he planned to play in one PGA Tour event a month starting in February. It is expected that March’s chosen tournament will come at next week’s Players Championship, whilst he will no doubt be targeting the Masters at Augusta National in April. It remains unknown as to whether his illness will impact his upcoming plans.