Jason Gore is back on the PGA Tour, as senior vice president and player advisor

WILMINGTON, Del. – Former winner Jason Gore is rejoining the PGA Tour – but not as a player.

The Tour announced Friday that Gore, 48, has been hired as a senior vice president and player advisor to commissioner Jay Monahan. Gore will “serve as a player advocate who will continue to strengthen the relationship between the Tour and its membership,” according to a release.

Gore served in a similar role for the past three years with the USGA, and he was largely credited with improving the strained relationship between the organization and the players.

“I think about how contentious the relationship was between the players and the USGA, so much so that in 2013 there was massive talk of a player boycott at Merion, and it’s done a complete 180,” Rory McIlroy said. “If you polled players, I would say it’s probably one of the top two majors now in terms of how the players are treated and the feedback that they can give, and Jason has been a massive part to do with that. …

“I’m surprised the USGA let him go because he is so good, but it’s a great addition to the Tour.”

The news comes just three days after Tiger Woods and 21 other marquee players held a players-only meeting ahead of the BMW Championship. Though those in attendance have been tight-lipped about the meeting, it’s believed that the next steps were for that group to present their ideas to Monahan and the rest of the Tour leadership for further review.

Gore, in theory, would serve as the liaison for those types of discussions, in addition to consulting with the Tour’s Player Advisory Council and Policy Board.

“We’re not looking for former players to run this [Tour],” McIlroy said. “The players are players, and management are management, and they’re executives and they’re trained to run businesses – that’s not what we do.

“But I think it’s maybe that missing link where Jason can take ideas from players and maybe articulate them better to Jay and his executive team and the board and everything else. He’s a player advocate. He wants to do everything as well as possible to make the players as happy as possible, and it’s a good addition.”