A second independent director resigns from PGA Tour policy board

Less than a week after Jimmy Dunne, the architect of last June’s framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, resigned from the circuit’s policy board, another independent director, Mark Flaherty, informed the board he was stepping down.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve on the policy board for the past 4 ½ years,” Flaherty wrote in a letter that was sent to the board Sunday. “Golf has always been a significant part of my life. Being able to blend my passion for the sport with the intricate workings and growth of the PGA Tour has been a truly rewarding experience.”

Dunne’s resignation last Monday stunned the golf world and his resignation letter seemed to suggest he’d been cut out of the negotiations with PIF, despite having led the push for the framework agreement which ended years of costly litigation between the Tour and PIF.

“Since the players now outnumber the independent directors on the board and no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with the PIF I feel like my vote and my role is utterly superfluous,” Dunne wrote in his resignation letter.

Flaherty’s resignation from the board leaves just three independent directors – chairman Ed Herlihy, Joe Gorder and Mary Meeker – along with six player directors – Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson – and liaison director Joe Ogilvie.