It was, within the literal sense of the time period, a vote of confidence for PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. A “new settlement” to make sure the Tour, led by Monahan, “lives as much as its mission.”

However anybody studying Tuesday morning’s press launch from the Tour knew it was the other. The gamers had simply delivered a staggering rebuke of Monahan’s decision-making in latest months and scope of authority atop the PGA Tour, stripping away the identical legislative freedoms that initially had allowed him to signal a framework settlement with the Saudi Public Funding Fund and reshape the way forward for skilled golf with out their information.

However that wasn’t the shocking a part of Tuesday morning’s announcement. The actually hanging half was the celebrity on the heart of the reorganization — a participant whose silence has loomed giant over skilled golf within the eight weeks for the reason that framework settlement was first introduced: Tiger Woods.

In response to a number of reviews, Woods was the chief of a gaggle of greater than 40 gamers who delivered Monahan a letter on Monday detailing an inventory of calls for for the way forward for the PGA Tour. Monahan swiftly agreed to these mandates, which included putting in Woods as a sixth “participant director” atop the PGA Tour coverage board and granting gamers the proper of first refusal on all elements of a “definitive settlement” with the PIF. The modifications give gamers a voting majority on PGA Tour issues heading ahead, and be certain that Monahan and the Tour’s non-player board members can not act unilaterally on behalf of gamers with out their information, as Monahan, Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy did forging the “framework” settlement with the PIF.

Woods has not spoken publicly since information of the merger first broke on June 6, which is notable contemplating the unilateral help the Tour acquired from golf’s largest stakeholders within the wake of the announcement. When phrase surfaced of Woods’ policy-board appointment on Tuesday, his first phrases on the merger have been supportive of Monahan.

“The gamers thank Commissioner Monahan for agreeing to deal with our issues,” he mentioned in a launch distributed by the Tour. “We look ahead to being on the desk with him to make the proper choices for the way forward for the sport that all of us love.”

Nevertheless it didn’t take a linguistics professional to grasp the deeper which means. In maybe his most brazen transfer as a taking part in skilled, Woods had led a mutiny to grab again the facility of golf’s largest skilled tour from its non-playing management. Below the brand new settlement, Monahan was rendered powerless in negotiating a definitive settlement with the Saudis with out participant help. The gamers, then again, now maintain the total weight of negotiating energy — and the counsel and experience of Colin Neville, a long-time team-golf proponent and newly minted particular advisor.

The brand new construction marks a tectonic shift within the energy dynamics {of professional} golf. However maybe it shouldn’t have landed as a shock. Significantly not given Woods’ personal phrases over these final 18 months.

It was Woods, in spite of everything, who had confirmed himself skilled golf’s main opponent to Saudi involvement. In simply the final yr, he turned down a suggestion “within the neighborhood” of $700 million, per LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman; orchestrated a Tour-defining “players-only” tarmac assembly in Delaware; and delivered a hanging condemnation of LIV Golf on the Open Championship at St. Andrews.

“So far as the gamers who’ve chosen to go to LIV and to play there, I disagree with it,” Woods mentioned at first of an impassioned criticism of the upstart tour. “They’ve turned their again on what has allowed them to get to this place.”

On the Hero World Problem in November, he doubled down on his criticism of LIV gamers and management, chafing at “the best way they confirmed their disregard or disrespect to the Tour that helped them get to [this] level.” He argued there could also be a path ahead for the PIF and the PGA Tour, however it might require Greg Norman’s dismissal from the lead place at LIV.

When information broke of the settlement in June, it didn’t take lengthy earlier than phrase adopted that Woods, like the remainder of professional golf, was left in the dead of night till the deal’s last phases. It was unclear then how Woods felt concerning the settlement, however not any longer.

Woods, like a lot of his friends, sees Monahan’s choice to barter their future with out their information as a grave betrayal of belief. A betrayal they really feel can’t — and now received’t — ever occur once more.

“I’m honored to characterize the gamers of the PGA Tour,” Woods mentioned. “This can be a crucial level for the Tour, and the gamers will do their greatest to make sure that any modifications which are made in Tour operations are in the very best curiosity of all Tour stakeholders, together with followers, sponsors and gamers.”

The purpose of those modifications is written proper there within the press launch: for the gamers, by the gamers. The result’s simply as simple to grasp: the period of secrets and techniques in males’s skilled golf is over — and the period of participant empowerment is simply simply starting.

As Woods closed his first assertion for the reason that announcement of golf’s landmark merger, he cleared up one last little bit of enterprise.

“He has my confidence transferring ahead with these modifications,” Woods mentioned of his embattled commissioner.

Which would appear to counsel Monahan had misplaced that confidence.

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a information and options editor at GOLF, writing tales for the web site and journal. He manages the Scorching Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and makes use of his on-camera expertise throughout the model’s platforms. Previous to becoming a member of GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse College, throughout which era he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Lengthy Island, the place he’s from. He will be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.