New Euro Tour Chief Has Studied The Medical Files And Determined Precious Rory Deserves Very Special Treatment

I've been doing this blog thing a decade now and some real whoppers have come my way, but I must say in the annals of utter malarkey, pathetic gobbledygook, and chutzpah only if it was even slightly believable, new European Tour Commissioner Keith Pelley takes the prize.

We get it Elton, you want Rory McIlroy to play in the Race to Dubai without playing enough events to qualify. Just say it. Don't lie. You're sacrificing your credibility, the believability of doctors, and even the street cred of a certain Northern Irish golfer.

But the dance is oh so fun!

To recap, McIlroy blew out his ankle in a "kickabout" designed to make sure he retains a sense of his roots as he's CEO of Rory Inc., a multi-million dollar operation. He returned to the PGA Championship, where he was constantly running up totally unstable dunes and touting how he was pain-free, running 20 minutes a day. Ankle seems to be great. So great that with nine starts in the eyes of the European Tour, he just needs four more on a schedule with eight to go to qualify for the season-ending Race To Dubai. But the lad's ankle apparently can't handle back-to-back weeks in the eyes of doctors, except of course when he does play the Race's back-to-back events.

So to be eligible to collect the lucrative bonus money, he would have to play four more times on the European Tour before the "Race". There's the reborn British Masters in England and the Dunhill at St. Andrews, along with a Porsche and a KLM and a UBS in there that may not be brand-synergistic, plus a required Frys.com Open appearance to fulfill a PGA Tour request. And PGA Tour playoffs. Definitely too much meaningless golf.

So Commissioner Forgetabouttherules Pelley enlisted doctors to suggest McIlroy is not sound enough to play in consecutive weeks in granting an exemption into the Race To Dubai and the ability to cash some more checks at the expense of the rules. According to the statement issued, McIlroy doesn't have to add to his total of 9 starts to qualify for the race to Dubai, which normally takes 13 starts.

Voila, problem solved! Making the rules up as we go.

From Alistair Tait's Golfweek story:

“These are exceptional circumstances and I have taken this situation and the resulting decision very seriously,” Pelley said in a European statement. “I have spent the last two weeks examining every angle and every possible solution, and I have spoken with Rory and his team, as well as independent medical advisers and some prominent players.

“After reviewing and discussing all the medical reports and recommendations from orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Adair, physiotherapist Dr. Steve McGregor and our Chief of Medical staff Dr. Roger Hawkes – while at the same time recognising that Rory is a world golfer with global commitments – I am convinced that he could not commit to any further tournament participation without risking further injury and persistent weakness to the ankle in the future.

“Therefore, after lengthy discussions, I have given him approval to play a minimum of 12 European Tour events this year.”

Living in the Hall of Fame, and the world's going to know your name so we'll let you skirt the rules!

And there was this from the medical people...

Dr. Roger Hawkes said: “From the evidence presented to me, in my view this is a potentially serious and significant injury. There is a risk of permanent instability of the ankle which could seriously affect both his golf swing - you need stability in the left ankle during the follow through – and for walking safely on uneven surfaces.

“Although he played again after a few weeks, he will need close attention for about a year. The suggestion of a reduced schedule and, wherever possible, avoiding back-to-back events is, in my opinion, sensible and important to allow adequate healing and reduce the chance of the complications mentioned which could clearly jeopardize his career.”

He left out the part about avoiding sprinting up fake dunes. Guessing that's not advisable either under this new scenario of ankle instability.

If all of this nonsense is to be believed, McIlroy's 2016 sounds very iffy. Of course it's not to be believed, but the Irish Golf Desk's Brian Keogh humored the Commish and looked ahead.

The Telegraph's James Corrigan opened his story this way:

In what many will view as a bending of the rules for the superstar,

No, not many will view it as a bending, just a total making-it-up-on-the-fly move...

the European Tour has granted Rory McIlroy special permission to compete in the final stages of the Race to Dubai despite the world No 1 planning not to play the minimum required number of events.

However, it is the Tour’s reason for invoking the “exceptional circumstances” clause, and the statement of its medical expert, which will worry McIlroy’s many admirers, who had been led to believe that his recent injury would not be a long-term concern.

In this world of make believe, Rory's ankle will only get better playing back-to-back weeks when it's a playoff scenario. Oh, and running up dunes.