Tiger Woods backs PGA Tour-PIF merger, despite ‘murky’ future،
NASSAU, Bahamas — Tiger Woods said Tuesday he still has confidence in PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, but criticized the fact that players were kept in the dark before the tour reached an agreement. framework with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and the DP World Tour in June. .
Woods, speaking at a news conference at the Hero World Challenge for the first time since the Masters in April, said he was frustrated, like many others on the PGA Tour, that he had not learned The existence of the agreement only shortly before its announcement on June 6.
“I was frustrated that the players were never involved,” Woods said. “It’s our tour, and we were all captivated by it. It happened so quickly, without any of our involvement. Nobody knew. It can’t happen again.”
Woods, an 82-time PGA Tour winner, joined the tour’s board of directors Aug. 1 as its sixth player director. The board also includes four independent directors and one director representing the PGA of America. Policy board chairman Ed Herlihy and independent director Jimmy Dunne worked behind the scenes with Monahan to negotiate the framework agreement with the Saudis.
The addition of Woods to the board gave the players a majority position. Patrick Cantlay, Charley Hoffman, Peter Malnati, Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth are the other player directors. Spieth replaced Rory McIlroy on the board last week.
“I’m sure a lot of players were affected by what happened,” Woods said. “So quickly, without any input or information on it, the information was just thrown out. I was very surprised that the process was what it was. We were very frustrated with what happened and we took steps to make sure that we weren’t going to be excluded from the process like we were. So part of that process was putting myself on the board and taking that position.
Woods expressed some frustration with the slow pace at which governance changes have been implemented by the PGA Tour. He expressed confidence that a deal could be finalized with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) or another private equity group – or perhaps both. The framework agreement with the PIF is set to expire on December 31, although it could be extended, sources previously told ESPN.
“We have several options, but we would still like to see an agreement reached [on] December 31st,” Woods said. “That’s what the summer deal said, and all parties understand that. But there are other options. »
Spieth said Tuesday that player managers collectively believed they were “going to do something in the same time frame.”
Woods said the deal had many moving parts and described the future landscape of men’s professional golf as “murky.” The Saudi-funded LIV Golf League has released the bulk of its 2024 schedule and continues to recruit PGA Tour players to join its tour. The only certainty is that the framework agreement has put an end to the costly legal battle between the parties.
“I have to say there are a lot of changing elements in how we’re going to play,” Woods said. “Whether it’s here on the PGA Tour, whether it’s a merger or whether it’s team golf. There are a lot of different aspects that are being addressed at the same time, and we’re trying to understand all of this and what is the best solution for all parties and best solution for all stakeholders involved.
