Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Charley Hoffman, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Peter Malnati and Adam Scott are trying to quell any lingering PGA Tour concerns.
The seven golfers — all current or future player directors on the PGA Tour Policy Board — distributed a two-page memo to the Tour’s membership addressing “speculation in our game,” including the looming Dec. 31 deadline for the PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal and the role of the player directors in future decisions, according to Golf Digest.
The memo, according to a copy of the first page posted by golf writer Rex Hoggard, stated, in one bullet point, that there’s a process underway to ensure “no major decision can be made in the future without the prior involvement and approval of the Player Directors.”
“We’re all kind of focused in on the negotiations going on with the PIF,” Hoggard said during an appearance Saturday on NBC Golf, referring to the Saudi Public Investment Fund that finances LIV, “but I think from the players, certainly from the player directors, they want to make sure they get this governance review correct. And this goes all the way back to the June 6 announcement of the framework agreement. There was a lot of discontent among the members, among the top players that this was negotiated in private.
“They didn’t have an input. This governance review is all about making sure that does not happen again.”
An important part of the memo was it made note of a “governance committee” of players to make sure “no major decision can be made in the future without the prior involvement and approval of the player directors.”
The memo also stated that the groups are “working diligently” toward the end-of-year deadline, as well as noting that the player directors met with “several incredibly impressive investor groups” that could turn into strategic partners.
It referenced Woods’ Aug. 1 arrival to the Policy Board and the progress made since then, too.
The memo was also sent amid rumors — and reporting from Firepit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck — that Jon Rahm signing with LIV Golf can be viewed as a “done deal,” which followed comments from Rahm that there was “absolutely no chance” he’d replace Rory McIlroy on the policy board.
That spot ended up going to Spieth.
Woods was added to the Policy Board around the start of August, a development that followed a letter sent by 41 golfers to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan requesting the addition of Woods, according to a Washington Post report at the time.
He became the sixth member of the board, and Scott will replace Hoffman in 2024.
“Hypothetically, would it surprise me? Yes, but there’s so many different things that have happened in the last, as you said, 48 hours, but also in the last few weeks,” Woods said about the Rahm rumors this week at the Hero World Challenge, according to Sports Illustrated.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf revealed that they’d reached a framework agreement for their merger on June 6, which also included the European DP World Tour. It was a shocking development given the court battles and torn relationships since LIV Golf’s introduction.
