Rory McIlroy: 'I care deeply about our sport. I care about its history. I care about its legacy.'

McIlroy has been the front man for maintaining golf’s traditions since before the rival LIV Golf Series became a reality and started stealing talent away from the legacy tours.

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, listens to a question during a press conference at East Lake Golf Club prior to the start of the Tour Championship golf tournament Wednesday Aug 24, 2022, in Atlanta, Ga. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

With some gray in his sideburns that matched the color of his quarter zip, Rory McIlroy presided over his press conference on Wednesday carrying multiple roles of a man in full – a contending competitor in the Tour Championship, a trusted consiglieri to the PGA Tour commissioner in reshaping the game’s future and the owner of a newly launched tech enterprise in collaboration with Tiger Woods and the tour.

McIlroy deftly juggled all three roles in what could be looked back upon as a watershed day in PGA Tour history. His name and association with Woods in spearheading a new dawn will reside with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in the annals of tour history.