This indicates that he is the second director to quit in as many weeks.
Flaherty follows Jimmy Dunne, an ally of Rory McIlroy, out the door.
Dunne was one of the main designers of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, a framework agreement that was finalized on June 6, 2023.
He used WhatsApp to get in touch with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the mastermind of LIV Golf, and they had several covert meetings all over the world with the powerful Saudi tycoon.
Many well-known golfers were offended by the move, including 15-time major champion Tiger Woods.
After joining the policy board in August of last year, Woods issued a warning to officials like Monahan that no such arrangement could ever be struck without the members’ knowledge beforehand.
It seems that the sides have not made much headway in achieving peace.
In his resignation letter, which was made public prior to this past week’s Valhalla PGA Championship, Dunne made reference to that.
He said that the other player directors had shrugged off his job as “utterly superfluous” and had treated him coldly, presumably because they were still upset that the deal had been negotiated behind closed doors.
Woods refuted this and that he was taken aback by Dunne’s choice.
Jordan Spieth shared Dunne’s disapproval of his assertions.
McIlroy, 35, lamented Dunne’s departure after he was turned down for a return to the board and further talks.
“Jimmy was basically the relationship, the sort of conduit between the PGA Tour and PIF,” McIlroy stated.
“It’s been really unfortunate that he has not been involved for the last few months, and I think part of the reason that everything is stalling at the minute is because of that.”
McIlroy stated that he was less hopeful than ever that the PGA Tour and PIF could come to an agreement.
In his letter of resignation, Flaherty made no reference to the LIV talks.
His service to the board began before LIV arrived.
He wrote this after serving for four and a half years: “I want to express my sincere gratitude to chairman [Ed] Herlihy and commissioner Monahan for their leadership in advancing a successful business and product agenda; it is one that continuously puts our players, fans, media, tournaments, marketing partners, and volunteers first.
“I also want to sincerely thank the PGA Tour staff for their hard work in supporting the board and making sure that our events are executed flawlessly every week, resulting in an excellent product that the golf world can enjoy.”
“I want to thank everyone that has helped me during my time on the policy board.
“Best wishes, Mark Flaherty.
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