Jordan Spieth was selected to replace Rory McIlroy as a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board considering a Saudi-backed merger deal, tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced on Monday.

Spieth, a 30-year-old American and three-time major winner, was chosen in a vote of the other five player directors on the panel — Tiger Woods, Webb Simpson, Peter Malnati, Charley Hoffman and Patrick Cantlay.

He will serve out the remainder of McIlroy's term, which concludes at the end of 2024.

McIlroy, a four-time major winner from Northern Ireland, resigned from the board last week after its last meeting of the year, saying he wanted to devote more time to his family, golf game and business interests.

The policy board is facing a year-end deadline to approve a framework agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, a merger deal unveiled in June that shocked tour players, including McIlroy, who was told of the deal only hours before it was announced.

Negotiations are ongoing over terms of the agreement, which would form a partnership between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi backers of the LIV Golf League.

While the framework agreement was seen as a solution to the LIV-PGA feud that has dominated golf for most of the past two years, there are other private equity offers to the tour to create a for-profit entity.

Spieth had served on the policy board from 2019-21 after two years on the tour's player advisory council.

"Jordan has extensive experience with the tour's governance process," Monahan said.

Australian Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion and current player advisory council chairman, will replace Hoffman on the policy board when his term expires at the end of next month.

The board membership includes six players plus six independent directors.

AFP