SAN DIEGO – Late last month, the PGA Tour announced this year’s 16-member Player Advisory Council, a back-of-the-house group that acts as a think tank for the policy board and a conduit for the membership to have their voice heard by the circuit’s leadership.
During normal times, this group does their business in relative anonymity, but these are not normal times. That was evident with the list of names appointed to this year’s PAC, eight of which are selected by the membership and eight selected by the player directors on the policy board.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Max Homa are among this year’s 16 PAC members, which is no surprise given their status in the game and the sea change that looms over the Tour with the ongoing negotiations between the circuit and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a Department of Justice probe into possible antitrust violations and the addition of private equity to the professional game.
One name on the PAC list, however, stood out.
In his previous 16 years as a Tour member, Gary Woodland never had much interest in the circuit’s political comings and goings.
“I’ve been asked what my thoughts were about going on [the PAC] before and I never did. This time I was asked and I accepted,” Woodland said this week at the Genesis Invitational. “It was the first time I think I was asked with the purpose of going on. I never declined but I’d been asked about my interest before.”
Historically, Woodland was in the majority when it came to serving on the PAC or policy board. For a player at the top of the game there’s a completely understandable desire to focus on the day job. So, why now?
“First, physically I can do it now. The last couple of years I didn’t have any chance to do it. I didn’t have the energy. I couldn’t have done it with the way I felt,” said Woodland, who had surgery in September 2023 to remove a benign brain tumor. “Now, I have the ability to do it.
“Secondly, we’re also in a big position right now. We [the Tour] have a lot of crap going on. A lot of changes going on and to be, somewhat, in the room is a nice thing. To be part of the conversation with all the changes that are going to take place it’s nice to have your input in it.”
Among the “crap” that drew Woodland to the board room is a move by the Tour to be more engaging with media partners to help improve the broadcast product. In memo to players last month, Thomas implored his Tour frat brothers to be more insightful.
“We need to do it. With everything that’s happened the last couple of years the Tour has been in a tough spot and I think from an image standpoint it has been in a tough spot,” Woodland said. “I think anything we can do to help that image, we all want this to work, we all want this to be better. We all want to be good partners with our media partners, with our sponsors. We all want this to work.”
Pace of play, an issue as old as the Tour itself, has also resurfaced as a hot topic with plenty of advice pouring in from fans and social media. Pace of play was not on the agenda Monday at Torrey Pines for the PAC’s first meeting of the season, but it’s something Woodland, and many others, hope to tackle.
“Here’s the deal, I’ve been on Tour 17 years and it’s been an issue for 17 years. It’s talked about a lot more now but I think it’s been an issue for 17 years,” he said. “With TV ratings being down I think it’s becoming a big deal. But I haven’t heard anything, so far, that’s going to speed it up to a point that makes it better for ratings.
“The stuff people are talking about is 15, 20 minutes [faster rounds], we’re still playing too long, 15, 20 minutes doesn’t help anything.”
Mostly, Woodland wants to be a part of what the Tour becomes, perhaps alongside LIV Golf, which is owned by PIF, but historically altered regardless of the ongoing negotiations.
“I couldn’t have even told you five years ago who was on the board. Now I know who is on the board and I actually talk to them. Before I had no idea who they were,” he said. “We all realize the Tour is changing. If that’s going to happen, which it is, you’d like to have your foot in the door and at least be part of the conversation.”
