PGA Tour All-Stars Rally Behind New Icons: Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy’s Successors Crowned in Unanimous Vote
Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth have both served on the PGA Tour Policy Board amid the ongoing merger talks with the Saudis - and now a new star has been brought in
World No. 152 Camilo Villegas has been voted chairman of the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council by his fellow players and will replace Jordan Spieth on their Policy Board. Villegas won the vote by his peers ahead Kevin Streelman and will serve as the chairman for the rest of 2024. The Colombian will then also take over from Spieth on the Policy Board from 2025, after the American came into the fold following Rory McIlroy’s resignation last November.
Villegas comes on board at an important time for the PGA Tour and professional golf, with the American-based circuit still in negotiations over a proposed ‘merger’ with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the backers of rivals LIV Golf.
The 42-year-old will join Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Tiger Woods as player directors and help liaise with the PGA Tour’s commissioner Jay Monahan over decisions that affect the circuit – including the pending framework agreement with the PIF.
The reason McIlroy opted to walk away with his role at the end of the year centred around the distractions coming from the off-course politics between the rival tours. Speaking at last year’s DP World Tour Championship, the Northern Irishman told Sky Sports: “I just think I’ve got a lot going on in my life between my golf game, my family and my growing investment portfolio, my involvement in TGL and I just felt like something had to give.
“I just didn’t feel like I could commit the time and the energy into doing that. I don’t mind being busy, but I just like being busy doing my own stuff. Something had to give and there’s guys that are on that board that are spending a lot more time and a lot more energy on it than I am. It’s in good hands and I felt like it was the right time to step off.”
McIlroy had found himself at the centre of the saga between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, but has opted to take a step back from drama in recent months. The Tour’s players will now be relying on Villegas to step forward as part of ongoing negotiations after taking on the new role.
The Colombian has enjoyed somewhat a resurgence at the end of the last campaign, after winning his first PGA Tour event in nine years at last November’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship. It was Villegas’ fifth win on the American-based circuit, having won four titles in six years between 2008 and 2016.
