Mark Harris
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Tiger Woods hasn’t been quiet when it comes to the planned merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), he’s been completely silent.
Woods hasn’t offered up any sort of statement or even a simple reaction to the early June announcement regarding the Tour and LIV Golf. While there are differing opinions about whether or not Woods should have jumped into the mix, the reality is that whether he is for or against the merger, there is nothing he could have said or done to change the situation.
His silence on the matter was presumably by design, and with the Tour announcing that Woods has joined the Policy Board as a Player Director, it’s obvious there have been serious matters taking place behind the scenes to get the 15-time major winner involved in an official capacity.
While Woods joining the board is a headline grabber, as part of the announcement the Tour also revealed a new agreement that ensures the Tour “lives up to its mission of being a player-driven organization, for the players, by the players.”
PGA Tour Forced Into Action After Secret Dealings With Saudi
The Tour has been the exact opposite of a player-run organization over the last two months following it’s surprise announcement of a planned merger with the Saudi PIF and, in turn, LIV Golf.
This sparked many players into action, with the New York Times reporting that dozens of the top players wrote to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Monday suggesting significant overhauls.
Tiger being elevated to the board and the ‘player-run organization’ tagline being brought back to the forefront is the Tour’s response.
Woods is the sixth Player Director on the board and joins Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy, Peter Malnati, Charley Hoffman, and Patrick Cantlay in his new role. While Woods’ addition is incredibly impactful on the surface, the fact that there are now six Player Directors is even more significant.
The Tour players now outnumber the independent board members six to five giving them the final say in the Tour’s plans moving forward.
“This is a critical point for the tour, and the players will do their best to make certain that any changes that are made in tour operations are in the best interest of all tour stakeholders, including fans, sponsors and players,” Woods said in a statement.
There are a number of points made in the announcement that send a message not only portraying player frustration, but also a set of ‘ground rules’ for Monahan and the non-player board members moving forward.
“The Framework Agreement” is also mentioned in the announcement, which is the proposed merger between the Tour, DP World Tour, and the Saudi PIF.
- First, the players and Commissioner Monahan will work together to amend the Policy Board’s governing documents to make it clear that no major decision can be made in the future without the prior involvement and approval of the Player Directors.
- Second, the Player Directors’ Special Advisor, Colin Neville, will be fully aware of the state of the negotiations contemplated by the Framework Agreement, and, as such, Neville will be provided with full access to any documents or information that he requests as being necessary for him to carry out his duties on behalf of the players
- Accordingly, the Player Directors will have full transparency and the authority to approve—or to decline to approve—any potential changes to the TOUR as part of the Framework Agreement discussions.
Monahan and other board members saying that the PGA Tour is a player-run organization is one thing, but now that it’s in writing with Woods’ name involved and players now owning the boardroom is another.
By no means does this signal the end of the proposed merger between the Tour and the Saudi PIF, but it certainly adds yet another piece to a puzzle that nobody seems ready to solve.
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This is an interesting development. Hopefully Tiger doesn’t hold a grudge against the LIV guys because thanks to them, the players are all going to get a lot more money when this gets worked out. Those LIV guys took a big risk and should not be punished if they get to play PGA Tour events again. However, many of those guys like the schedule and team play of LIV, so the PGA Tour needs to look at that structure. Maybe they wipe out some PGA Tour events and create LIV-like team events? Let’s be honest, without Koepka, DJ, Cam Smith, Reed, Philly Mick, Niemann and several other LIV players the PGA Tour has not been as good and some fields have been weak (like the 3M). They need the players that went over back in the fold for a better product.