The Jay Monahan memo didn’t reveal much about the Albany meeting between the Player Directors and the PIF Chief, Yasir Al-Rumayyan. But player directors are slowly opening up about the much-anticipated meetings. While there was already news of Tiger Woods’s resort in the Bahamas being the rendezvous point, what the new comments reveal is how Woods has positioned himself as the leader.

Stands in sharp contrast to his absence on the greens. Since admitting his hope of playing one tournament a month, Woods has played only one competitive round so far. Interestingly, since becoming a Player Director more questions thrown his way are about the Tour’s negotiations than his performance on the course.

Not that the former world No. 1 was ticked off by that. Rather, he took his time to patiently answer for each, even in Riviera. Is this a sign that Woods might be bracing himself for a new role? Other than the one he has played since 1996?

Woods has already demonstrated his willingness to step up as a leader

Tiger Woods joined the board as the sixth player-director, giving the players a voting majority on the PGA Tour Policy Board. Speaking on the job, the 48-year-old said Albany during the 2023 Hero World Challenge, “I made an impact on the PGA Tour for a number of years hitting a golf ball and doing that. I can have, I think, a lasting impact by doing what I’m doing, by being on the board, and being a part of the future of the PGA Tour.”

And now, the former world No. 1 has moved to an even more elevated position. Woods became the vice chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises, the newly formed for-profit entity of which PIF is welcome to be a part. As Vice President, a plethora of responsibilities fall on his shoulders other than simply representing players on the board. 

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Tiger Woods also represents the Tour itself to outside members, like a certain governor of a $700 billion sovereign wealth fund. It will also allow him to consolidate his power and build his position for an even more powerful role, veteran sports writer Alan Shipnuck noted.

Let’s also not forget that the 82-time PGA Tour winner was an influential voice in the Delaware meeting, where the seed of Signature Events was sown. It went through some remodeling, yes, being pushed to the limited-field ‘Signature’ level from simply ‘elevated’ events. Even then, the veteran golfer was able to persuade other board members and Monahan to retain the Friday cuts in three of those events, including his own Genesis Invitational. 

Players already see Tiger Woods as the leader

The need for Woods’s presence at the meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan was not lost on anyone. Rory McIlroy, a close friend and former member of the board, believed the 15-time Major winner “absolutely” needed to be there. The ‘meet-and-greet’—to quote Webb Simpson here—was supposed to happen on Monday at Ponte Vedra, the PGA Tour’s headquarters.

But, tellingly, Yasir Al-Rumayyan traveled to Albany, Woods’s Bahamas resort, from where he hosts the invite-only Hero World Challenge. A neutral soil for laying the groundwork of a peace treaty? Might be. But interestingly, Tiger Woods, the senior-most player in the group, took it upon himself to acquaint himself with Al-Rumayyan on the golf course. 

Simpson told Sports Illustrated that the veteran golfer “was very engaged” and that “outside of our meeting, he’s been super engaged along the way. He’s a great leader, and I really think he’s taken the position of our leader, and we rely on him a lot.” A responsibility A job he envisioned himself doing a few months back when he was included on the Tour policy board.

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But he didn’t. Contrarily, Woods chose to plunge himself into the murky waters. Reportedly, PIF had a plan to open a team fronted by the 82-time PGA Tour winner. But the veteran apparently refused the chance. He has publicly criticized the PIF product but has never shied away from acknowledging the need for dialogue. Diplomatically, neither has the Hall of Famer questioned the credibility of the current boss, Jay Monahan, even when accepting that he was caught off guard by the June 6 merger announcement.

But why would Tiger Woods want a different job?

It could’ve been easy for Woods to “hide under a rock,” as Justin Thomas said. After all, he has made the Tour what it is today. The Sponsors. The TV deal runs into billions. The increased presence of golf in the global sports world. The athleticism demonstrated by the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, and others.

Woods has been the fountainhead of many things endemic to modern golf, being the apex predator on the course and the prime needle-mover outside the greens. No one would’ve questioned if he chose to sidestep the troubling responsibility of securing the future of the tour and creating a haven for upcoming stars. 

Yes, it’s not easy balancing a day job as a professional golfer on the PGA Tour and also moonlighting, but then Woods perhaps realizes that his playing days are nearing an end. His body is hindering his dream of surpassing Jack Nicklaus. Perhaps the 15-time Major winner looks at his legacy away from the prism of on-course heroics and toward more thankless works like envisioning a future. Like Jack Nicklaus did when he established the Tour. Like Arnold Palmer did when he opposed Greg Norman’s plan for a separate tour with top players.

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