Tiger Woods Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY NETWORK

Rory McIlroy says Tiger Woods already impactful on policy board

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/23/23

Tiger Woods hasn't been on the PGA Tour Policy Board for very long. Less than a month, to be exact. But according to fellow board member and friend Rory McIlroy, he is already making an impact.

"He’s certainly been spending more time on it than I have," McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday, via Sports Illustrated. "He’s been talking to some people. He’s been talking to a lot of people. He’s really engaged in just trying to get the best outcome for the players on the PGA Tour. So I think his difference has been felt already."

#NEW: Rory McIlroy on Tiger’s involvement with the policy board: “He's been talking to some people. He's been talking to a lot of people. He's really engaged in just trying to get the best outcome for the plavers on the PGA TOUR. So I think his difference has been felt… pic.twitter.com/WyUTXAsd2S
— TWLEGION (@TWlegion) August 23, 2023

Woods was added to the board at the beginning of August, after upwards of 40 players signed a letter requesting Woods be added to the board immediately. That move came shortly after the bombshell announcement that the PGA Tour is trying to merge with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund -- and players were largely kept in the dark about it.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan didn't offer much more transparency about the proposed merger in his State of the PGA Tour address on Tuesday. A "framework agreement" for the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the PIF is supposed to be in place by the end of the year, and a plan is supposed to be in place for how LIV Golf defectees will rejoin the PGA Tour. From how little Monahan divulged on Tuesday, it doesn't sound like players are any more in the know than they were before.

But McIlroy, who also serves on the policy board, appears confident that Woods' presence will help the players be heard this time around.

"His presence on there will only continue to grow as we head towards that December 31st deadline," McIlroy said.

Woods joins McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman and Peter Malnati as a fellow player director on the board. Adding him to the board helps ensure that "governing documents are being amended to assure that player directors must have involvement in and approve major decisions," Sports Illustrated summarized. It also gives players a majority vote on the policy board when it comes to major matters, including the proposed framework agreement with the PIF.

While Woods is busy making moves on the policy board, McIlroy is dialed in this week trying to win another FedEx Cup at the 2023 Tour Championship. He tees off at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Thursday.

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