Presumably.” While he has been "outspoken about his dislike of LIV Golf and forcefully backed the PGA Tour in his words and deeds,” it is interesting to note that Woods has “never said anything negative about the Saudi backing of LIV Golf and hasn’t offered an opinion on how he feels about the PIF getting involved with the PGA Tour” ( SI, 8/6). STEPPING UP: SI’s Bob Harig noted for the bulk of his career Woods “stayed out of Tour politics,” and if he had an opinion, he “expressed it in a way to have the greatest impact while rarely crusading.” His word “always carried a lot of weight - when he chose to invoke it.” That is “what makes his foray into the running of the PGA Tour so interesting,” as Woods is “stepping up instead of stepping back.” Woods carries a “different kind of weight that will be hard to ignore.” What he says “matters” - especially to a player constituency that "almost universally respects and looks up to him - and his opinions will be impossible to dismiss.” Woods already “has affected change,” as not only did he get Monahan to agree to put him on the board, but Tour documents will be "amended via the Policy Board so that no major decision can be made without prior involvement and approval from player directors.” So, if Woods does not like the deal, “it’s off. The presence of Woods on the Tour's Policy Board forces Commissioner Jay Monahan to "lend a more open ear.” Adding Woods’ voice and physical presence in board meetings “will be significant,” as he has "grown into his role as statesman, and he wears it well.” Woods “can be persuasive, and should be." With the changes came "process adjustments, meant to assure that the secret meetings that led to the bombshell announcement" of the Tour's potential alliance with Saudi Arabia's PIF could "not happen in the future." What the players “don’t want to happen is what occurred" when Policy Board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy, along with Monahan, "brokered a framework agreement with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and no one but those directly involved were aware of it.” Monahan, Dunne and Herlihy “didn’t violate any rules regarding tour governance,” but after more than a year of “blowtorching LIV Golf and all it represents, the about-face was almost inconceivable, blindsiding virtually everyone.” Wherever the Tour lands - whether it be an "acceptable alliance with the PIF, which funds LIV Golf, or with each group moving ahead independently" - its "reimagining is ongoing" ( GLOBAL GOLF POST, 8/7). Changes to how the PGA Tour operates, including the addition of Tiger Woods as the sixth player to have a seat on its Policy Board, are another “major step in a sport in the midst of a seismic shift virtually unseen two months ago," according to Ron Green Jr.
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