Woods was appointed to the PGA Tour board in August, making
him the sixth player-director and the only one whose board term has no limits.
The tour said Woods will be part of the “transaction
subcommittee” on the board of PGA Tour Enterprises that will handle day-to-day
negotiations as PIF seeks to become a minority investor.
Also on the subcommittee are PGA Tour Commissioner Jay
Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group and
Joe Ogilvie, a former tour player appointed as a director liaison in March.
The subcommittee reports back to the full board.
The developments capped a day that began with Rory McIlroy
losing the inside track on rejoining the board as Webb Simpson’s replacement
when board members resisted his return.
“I think there was a subset of people on the board that were
maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason,” McIlroy said at
the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a $20 million
signature event is being played.
Simpson had offered to resign, but only if McIlroy were to
replace him. When a player director resigns, the other players on the board
have to unanimously agree on a successor. McIlroy resigned from the board in
November, and the players selected Jordan Spieth to replace him.
The seven players — Woods, Spieth, Simpson, Ogilvie, Patrick
Cantlay, Adam Scott and Peter Malnati — are on the board of the PGA Tour and
PGA Tour Enterprises, the commercial entity that agreed to a deal with
Strategic Sports Group as a minority investor.
That deal included a $1.5 billion investment, which could be
as much as $3 billion.
McIlroy was willing to return, believing he could help find
a solution to the split in golf that has left some of the best players on two
tours. McIlroy sees the reunification in some form as the ultimate goal and
rubbed players the wrong way when he suggested earlier this year that LIV
players return without punishment.
“Today’s news is in no way a commentary on Rory’s important
perspective and influence,” Monahan said in a statement. “It’s simple a matter
of adherence to our governance process by which a tour player becomes a board
member.
“Webb remaining in his position as a member of the policy
board and PGA Tour Enterprises board through the end of his term provides the
continuity needed at this vital time,” he said. “We are making progress in our
negotiations with the PIF.”
McIlroy is certain to stay involved in an unofficial
capacity based on his experience of two years on the board and his voice in the
game. He was the only European tour member on the PGA Tour board, and McIlroy
has cultivated relationships across continents during his career.
He had said on a British soccer podcast at the start of this
year that he met with the PIF governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, at the DP World Tour
Championship in Dubai in late 2022 and that he returned home and encouraged the
tour board to meet with him.
The framework agreement among the PGA Tour, European tour
and PIF was announced June 6, with a deadline to finalize it by the end of
2023. Negotiations continue with little progress.
Woods was among the player directors who went to the Bahamas
on March 18 — Monahan and Henry also attended — to meet with Al-Rumayyan.
Woods said at the Masters about that meeting, “I don’t know
if we’re closer, but certainly we’re headed in the right direction. That was a
very positive meeting, and I think both sides came away from the meeting
feeling positive.”
Gorder is the chairman and CEO of Valero, the title sponsor
of the Texas Open. He has been appointed the inaugural chairman of the PGA Tour
Enterprises board. -AP
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