Jason Burgos
After a historic letter and demand from players, the PGA Tour has made golf legend Tiger Woods a board member to quiet member unrest.
It has been a hectic last few months in the golf world after the PGA Tour and DP World Tour agreed to a shocking merger with bitter rivals LIV Golf. While the deal brought an end to an ugly feud and was expected to bring more unity to the top of the sport it created a slew of different issues.
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Firstly, it led to a Congressional inquiry that put the PGA’s unexpected merger with the Saudi Arabia-backed league under the spotlight and revealed the secretive elements of negotiations. Talks that players were never made aware of until a deal was agreed to. This was one of many things that have bothered Tour athletes who remained loyal and did not take boatloads of cash to jump ship to LIV.
The lack of transparency overall has been a major concern for players and they let their worries be known earlier this week when 41 major champions and stars like Rory McElroy, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, and Rickie Fowler reportedly signed a letter demanding that PGA Tour icon Tiger Woods be named to the board of directors.
Tiger Woods added to PGA Tour board of directors
Well, it seems that letter put some fear in the PGA and Commissioner Jay Monahan and they have acquiesced to that request and officially named the 15-time major winner to the Tour board of directors on Tuesday.
“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. The players thank Commissioner Monahan for agreeing to address our concerns, and we look forward to being at the table with him to make the right decisions for the future of the game that we all love. He has my confidence moving forward with these changes.”
-Tiger Woods statement
With the addition of Tiger Woods, the golfers on the board of directors now outnumber the five independent members. However, that last spot to even the odds and make it a 12-member board is expected to be filled in the near future.
