ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s difficult to overstate how far-reaching Wednesday’s 5:30 p.m. ET news dump from the PGA Tour will be for the professional game.
The press release to announce the formation of the board of directors for PGA Tour Enterprises had been anticipated as the circuit inches its way toward a new, for-profit reality and a possible partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and it’s LIV Golf league. But it was the details that will dictate the game’s path into a historically uncertain future.
Most headlines gravitated to Tiger Woods’ expanded role with Tour leadership as the vice chairman of the 13-member PGA Tour Enterprises board of directors. Woods was added to the PGA Tour policy board last summer in response to player discontent over the June 6 framework agreement between the Tour and PIF. By all accounts, he’s embraced the role of statesman as a policy-board member and now as the most important voice in the PGA Tour Enterprises board room.
“We need Tiger on our side, and I feel we’ve all been, somewhat, on the same page,” Rickie Fowler said Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “None of us would ever want to try to go against what Tiger would ever want to say or do, because that’s an uphill, losing battle. I appreciate everything he’s done to put us in the position we’re in.”
Palace intrigue aside, allowing Woods a seat at the grownup table serves multiple purposes for Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and the players. For Monahan, the path forward with or without the PIF will be led by Woods, which gives added credibility to whatever decision is ultimately made. For the players, those who were blindsided by the back-room nature of the framework agreement, it’s an invaluable peace of mind that a generational legend, not a lawyer or banker, will help decide the future of the Tour.
“To have him in this role shows how much he cares, how much he realizes the PGA Tour and the game of golf is in a very pivotal stage, for all the obvious reasons,” said Webb Simpson, who like Woods and the other player directors on the policy board will now take a similar seat on the PGA Tour Enterprises’ board of directors. “I’m sure he wants to make his mark for setting the Tour up for the best future possible.”
Beyond the savvy politics of expanding Woods’ leadership role, the Tour also tapped into a common theme among the rank-and-file that there needs to be a player’s voice in these weighty discussions, with the addition of “director liaison” to the board.
Joe Ogilvie joined Wallace Capital by way of Duke University and the PGA Tour, where he played 15 full seasons and won the 2007 U.S. Bank in Milwaukee. For anyone who was paying attention the last few months — particularly on social media — Ogilvie was an easy and inspired choice to help lead the circuit into its new era.
“I went to [Ogilvie] early on, mid-summer. A couple of us did, just to get his take and get his advice,” Simpson said. “He’s been a great advocate and we can go to him and ask, ‘You know the PGA Tour, you know the banking world. You know what we’re going to ask probably before we ask it.’ He’s been super helpful.”
Ogilvie will accompany Woods and the five other player directors from the policy board on PGA Tour Enterprises’ board of directors. They will be joined by independent director Joe Gorder, Monahan and four representatives from SSG, the Fenway Sports-led group that invested an initial $1.5 billion into the Tour’s for-profit entity.
If the politics of the moment seem trite and reactionary (and for most casual observers it is), know that Wednesday’s rollout is a small part of an ongoing governance review, which was also born from the blowback caused by the framework agreement.
Still to be determined is the DP World Tour’s role in the new entity, and it’s worth noting that the European circuit is notably absent from the PGA Tour Enterprises’ board of directors. One longtime European observer dismissed the lack of European representation and pointed out the Tour and DP World Tour already have a strategic alliance.
There’s also built-in room to expand the new board of directors, depending on the outcome of the negotiations between the Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which would certainly want representation.
“If we did a deal with them, you’d certainly want [PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan] to feel that he’s a part of these big decisions and collaborate on how do we do team golf, if that’s something that’s important to him,” Simpson said. “What is the schedule of the PGA Tour going forward? I mean, FedExCup is the ultimate goal and we want to keep that the No. 1 goal, but what’s the future of the fall? The most important thing is, we hear from him and talk to him and hear what he’s interested in.”
In many ways, Wednesday’s announcement paves the way for “what’s next” in the game. Despite wild rumors and speculation about the state of the negotiations between the Tour and PIF, the company line remains the same – ongoing – and as both products, the Tour and LIV Golf, continue to suffer, Simpson offered a cautionary tone when asked if there’s a danger to not reaching a deal with the Saudis.
“Yes, very dangerous,” Simpson said. “We’re in a position where we want to do the right deal. We don’t want to do a deal because we’re afraid that the LIV tour might recruit more players, that’s certainly a fear, but I think it’s obvious. I think the writing is on the wall, not to do a deal for money, we need to do a deal for the good of the game and for the health of the PGA Tour long term.”
Wednesday’s unveiling of the PGA Tour Enterprises’ board of directors will not be the final piece to the Tour’s complicated future puzzle, but it’s certainly a weighty step towards that uncertain future.