VIRGINIA WATER, England – Rory McIlroy had been on the fence regarding his European Tour membership this year and it was a conversation with his wife, Erica, that changed his mind.
“I think she sort of said to me, what are you trying to do, or what sort of point are you trying to make?” McIlroy said on Wednesday at the BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship event.
But if Erica McIlroy set the Northern Irishman back down a path to tour membership it was the circuit’s chief executive Keith Pelley that secured his status.
“The rule was that you have to play an extra two events if you don't play your home open,” said McIlroy, who skipped this year’s Irish Open because of scheduling issues.