Jordan Spieth will replace Rory McIlroy as a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, according an email obtained by Golf Channel. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the change to membership Monday morning. The five remaining player directors — Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Charley Hoffman, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson — voted for Spieth to serve out the remainder of McIlroy’s term through 2024.
“With Rory McIlroy resigning from the PGA Tour Policy Board last week, per the PGA Tour Tournament Regulations, the five remaining Player Directors have elected Jordan Spieth to serve the remainder of Rory’s term which expires at the end of 2024,” Monahan wrote.
“Jordan has extensive experience with the Tour’s governance process, having served two years on the Player Advisory Council (2017-18) including PAC Chairman in 2018 and three years (2019-21) as a Player Director.”
Spieth’s addition to the board comes as the PGA Tour continues negotiations with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund to house commercial operations under a new for-profit entity dubbed PGA Tour Enterprises. A Dec. 31 deadline for the agreement to be solidified had been set, though it reportedly could be pushed back over antitrust concerns and player demands.
McIlroy cited time constraints as the primary reason for his departure. Between family, investments and golf, the four-time major champion was unable to give adequate attention to the increasingly crowded negotiations. McIlroy informed the board of his resignation following its final meeting of the year last Monday.
“Something had to give,” McIlroy said at the DP World Tour Championship. “There are only so many hours in a day and only so many days in a week. I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now between trying to be a world-class golfer and trying to be a good husband and a good father. I’ve got a growing investment portfolio that is taking up more of my time. I’m involved with TGL and sort of in the weeds with that. On top of all that, the policy board stuff was taking more of my time than ever this year. I just felt something had to give.”
The PGA Tour also announced last week the addition of Valero Energy executive Joe Gorder to the board. Gorder will serve as the fifth independent director, replacing Randall Stephenson, who resigned in early July after citing concerns over the agreement with the Saudi PIF.
Current PAC chairman Adam Scott is also slated to replace Hoffman in 2024. With the addition of Spieth, the structure of the PGA Tour policy board is as follows:
- Player Directors: Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Tiger Woods, Charley Hoffman, Peter Malnati, Webb Simpson
- Independent Directors: Ed Herlihy, Jimmy Dunne, Mark Flaherty, Ed Gorder, Mary Meeker, and PGA of America Director John Lindert.