PGA Tour Policy Board suffers another setback as prominent member leaves one week after Jimmy Dunne

After Jimmy Dunne resigned from the PGA Tour policy board last week, the Tour has suffered another setback as Mark Flaherty, one of the independent directors, also stepped down from the board on Sunday, May 19.

Dunne was the chief architect of the PGA Tour and PIF deal when it was announced last year. However, last week he shocked everyone by announcing his resignation from the board. Now, Flaherty has followed suit, giving another shock to the tour and golf fraternity.

On Sunday, Flaherty left the Tour policy board without specifying any particular reason. He was a member of the board for more than four years.

"It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve on the policy board for the past 4 ½ years," he wrote in the memo sent to the Tour members on Sunday. "Golf always been a significant part of my life. Being able to blend my passion for the sport with the intricate workings and growth of the PGA Tour has been a truly rewarding experience."

Last week, Dunne stated that he was stepping down from the position as no significant progress had been made towards the deal. He also reasoned that, considering the players now outnumbered the independent directors, his vote and role were "utterly superfluous."

After witnessing two resignations in one week, the PGA Tour Policy Board is left with Ed Herlihy, Joe Gorder, and Mary Meeker as the three independent directors and Joe Ogilvie as the liaison director.

The six-player directors on the board are Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, and Peter Malnati.

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What is the current status of the PGA Tour-PIF deal?

The PGA Tour-PIF deal was announced in June last year but has hardly made any significant progress since then. The initial deadline to lock in the framework agreement was December 31, but it was further pushed to April. However, nothing concrete has come as of now.

On the contrary, players have continued switching to the Saudi-backed circuit. Last year, the Tour witnessed its biggest player loss so far when Jon Rahm decided to join LIV after signing a reported deal of over $500 million. He was then followed by English star Tyrrell Hatton and youngster Adrian Meronk.

With things getting complex for the Tour, it will be interesting to see how things unfold in the next few months.