Report: Tiger, Rory & Co. “propose PGA Tour shake-up”

The details from last week’s PGA Tour players’ meeting are slowly starting to emerge – and they make for fascinating reading.

Tiger Woods flew from his home in Florida to Delaware for crunch talks with fellow pros ahead of last week’s BMW Championship.

Top of the agenda: how to stave off the threat posed by LIV Golf.

Woods made a hasty exit following the meeting and those who stayed on to play in the second of the three FedEx Cup Playoff events, including Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, were tight-lipped on what went on.

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However, the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck has divulged some of the details.

According to a source with direct knowledge of what was discussed, it has been proposed that a new series of up to 18 no-cut tournaments could form a “tour-within-the-tour”. It would feature the top-60 players competing for $20m purses.

Sound familiar?

Shipnuck’s source also claims that Woods and Co. are prepared to lobby the PGA Tour to give up its charitable status. The 501(c)(6) status with which the tour currently operates allows it, amongst other things, to pay less tax and operate free from shareholders and investors.

However, it is understood that players are keen for some of their wealthy benefactor friends to have the opportunity to throw money at the tour which could then see them rewarded with equity positions, again much like LIV is understood to have done for its leading lights.

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Elsewhere in Shipnuck’s piece, it is reported that as many as seven current PGA Tour players are set to jump ship in favour of LIV Golf following this week’s FedEx Cup finale.

The reigning Open champion Cam Smith is understood to be one of those making the switch at the conclusion of the Tour Championship at East Lake in a deal that is believed to be worth more than $100million.