PGA Tour Enterprises Taps Valero’s Joe Gorder as Chairman
(Bloomberg) — The PGA Tour said Joe Gorder was elected chairman of PGA TOUR Enterprises, its commercial venture that secured up to $3 billion of funding in January from a group of US investors.
Gorder, who is executive chairman of Valero Energy Corp., will also sit on a newly formed “transaction subcommittee,” which continues to negotiate with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Joining Gorder on that committee are Joe Ogilvie, John W. Henry, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods — all who are on the PGA TOUR Enterprises Board — and Rory McIlroy.
Valero Texas Open – Final Round
“Together with our player directors, we understand that fans are counting on us to actively engage with the PIF and pursue other investment and innovation opportunities that benefit everyone — fans, players, and sponsors alike,” Gorder said in the statement late Thursday. “We’re all committed to making this happen.”
Gorder, who stepped down as CEO of the US fuel refiner last year, is familiar with the PGA Tour in part because Valero has been a key sponsor of the Valero Texas Open near San Antonio, Texas since 2002. He joined the PGA Tour’s policy board last year as an independent director, and will retain that position in addition to his role with PGA Tour Enterprises.
Gorder “not only has a deep understanding of what the PGA TOUR has and always will stand for, but also the experience and vision to help us realize all that this organization can accomplish in the future,” Woods said a statement.
PIF disrupted the sport by launching an upstart league known as LIV in 2022, which has lured star golfers including Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and in December, Jon Rahm.
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