Denied board seat, Rory McIlroy named to Tour’s ‘transaction subcommittee’ in Saudi talks
Rory McIlroy will still be involved in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund even if that isn’t as a member of the PGA Tour’s policy board.
On Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he wouldn’t be replacing Webb Simpson as a player director on the policy board — nor as a director on the newly formed board of directors of PGA Tour Enterprises, the circuit’s for-profit arm.
On Thursday, however, McIlroy said he has instead been named to the “transaction subcommittee,” which was formed to handle the day-to-day negotiations as PIF seeks to become a minority investor in the Tour.
“I’m not on the board but I’m in some way involved in that transaction committee. I don’t have a vote so I don’t have a meaningful say in what happens in the future, but at least I can feel like I can be helpful on that committee and that was sort of a compromise for, I guess, not getting a board seat,” McIlroy said following the first round at the Wells Fargo Championship.
The subcommittee will include Tiger Woods, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, director liaison Joe Ogilvie and Adam Scott, according to McIlroy. The subcommittee will report back to the board.
McIlroy had been tabbed to replace Simpson on the policy board but he said things “got pretty complicated and pretty messy.” According to regulations, the policy board – which includes player directors Woods, Scott, Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Peter Malnati – had to approve McIlroy as a replacement for Simpson, whose term was supposed to run through 2025. Simpson will now serve out the remainder of his term.
Placing the world No. 2 on the subcommittee creates a connection with PIF and its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who McIlroy has met on multiple occasions.
“I feel like I’ve got good relationships on both sides there and hopefully I can bring something to the table and try to provide some insight and value and see if we can get this thing [a deal with PIF] done,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy also addressed why he wasn’t picked to replace Simpson, who had requested McIlroy take his seat. Specifically, he was asked if his relationship with Woods was “strained.”
“There’s no strain there,” said McIlroy, who resigned from the policy board last November and was replaced by Spieth. “We might see the future of golf a little bit differently but I don’t think that should place any strain on a relationship or on a friendship.”