As professional golfers continue to express concerns about the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, Tiger Woods has joined the board of directors in a concession to player demands.
Under the new structure, which was announced Tuesday, the PGA Tour’s board will consist of six players, five independent directors, and the PGA of America director. Previously there were five players on the board, and Woods is the golfers’ choice for additional seat. A replacement for the seat that was once held by AT&T chairman Randall Stephenson, who resigned citing “serious concerns” about the deal, will be named soon.
The board also plans to update its governing documents to ensure no major decisions can be made without the involvement of player directors. That could impact the LIV deal, as the tour is in the midst of finalizing the framework agreement.
“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.
LIV exploded into the golf world in June of last year, luring star players with contracts that guaranteed as much as $100 million and tournament prizes that set world records. The PGA and PGA Tour, at the time, argued the league was compromising the integrity of the game—and several golfers, including Woods, turned down enormous paydays to remain loyal to the PGA Tour. Woods was reportedly offered up to $800 million.
Then in June of this year, despite players' objections, the PGA inked an agreement that would turn the LIV Golf organization and the PGA Tour into collaborators bankrolled largely by the Saudis, in an entity to be chaired by Yasir al-Rumayyan—chairman of Saudi Aramco—if the deal goes through.
Players said they were blindsided by the LIV deal. While five golfers were on the board, the deal was largely put together by just two non-player members.
The Northern Irish golfer and board member Rory McIlroy, speaking at the time the deal was announced, said “I still hate LIV, I hate them. I hope it goes away and I fully expect that it does.” Others, including three-time PGA winner Scott Stallings, targeted their ire at PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
“I am committed to taking the necessary steps to restore any lost trust or confidence that occurred as a result of the surprise announcement of our Framework Agreement,” Monahan said in a statement. “Any agreement we reach must be shaped by our members’ input and approval earned through our Player Directors.”
The deal has also come under scrutiny by the U.S. government, with a Senate panel holding hearings last month. At those, PGA Tour officials said that they saw little choice when it came to the deal, given the essentially bottomless resources of the Saudis' $700 billion Public Investment Fund, gleaned from the oil profits of state-owned Saudi Aramco, the No. 2 company on Fortune's Global 500 list and the most profitable company in history.
“If they take just five players a year, then in five years, they can gut us,” Jimmy Dunne, vice chairman of Piper Sandler, who negotiated the PGA Tour deal, told the Senate. “If we do nothing, they could end up owning golf.”
While there was plenty of rhetoric, there was no indication during the hearing that Congress would block the tour from going into business with the Saudis.
