Justin Thomas has given his backing to the appointment of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour Policy Board, saying the 15-time Major winner takes the future of the Tour "very seriously."
The two-time PGA Champion is preparing for a crucial appearance in the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, where he’s hoping to earn a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs in the final tournament of the regular season.
Before taking on that challenge, though, he expressed his approval of Woods’ appointment to the position of Player Director, which has come in the aftermath of the PGA Tour’s merger with the Saudi Public Investment Fund that finances LIV Golf.
He said: “Yeah, I'm obviously excited to have Tiger on behalf of the players. I mean, I know that he takes it very seriously. I think he's spoken to it some, but obviously his relationship with Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and what they did to basically create the PGA Tour, kind of what it is now."
The move coincided with a statement from the PGA Tour, which expressed a desire “to ensure that the Tour lives up to its mission of being a player-driven organization, ‘for the players, by the players.’”
That comes after the merger announcement was initially met by anger from some PGA Tour players, particularly over the secretive nature of the negotiations and their lack of involvement, with Monahan facing calls to resign.
Thomas, though, explained that Woods – who he is close friends with – would be the perfect player to help the PGA Tour navigate its next steps. He said: “We've been dealt with some roadblocks, if you will, or just some difficult circumstances. I think he takes it seriously that he is going to be a part of paving the way for the future and the current I guess I don't know if you want to call it structure or whatever of the PGA Tour."
Thomas also explained that Woods taking up the position is a sign that he still cares deeply about he future of then PGA Tour. He continued: “He takes the future of the PGA Tour very seriously and he wants it to be in the best hands possible and it to be in the best position possible.
"I think it would be very easy for someone like him, all he's done, just kind of like, what do I need to do, I've made the Tour what it is, where it's at financially, all the sponsors, TV deals whatever, and it would be pretty easy for him to just hide under a rock the rest of his life and be just fine. But that's not who he is, he wants to continue to see the PGA Tour grow and succeed.“
Thomas also explained the importance of the players having a say in the direction of the Tour, particularly in light of the huge changes that have been made following the emergence of LIV Golf. He said: “I think it's very obvious last year that a pretty good amount of us were frustrated and taken back with how some things took place. You know, we were just kind of put in a funky or tough position with how stuff was handled in the past.
“We want to have a say of what's going on because, you know, it is our Tour as well and how it's structured and how it looks is important to us. So we would like to have a little bit of a say-so on how that looks.”
