Spieth is one of six player directors of the new PGA Tour Enterprises, alongside Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott and Webb Simpson.
Spieth was speaking after round two of The Players at TPC Sawgrass, a few days after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said negotiations over a merger with the PIF were ‘accelerating’.
We are being encouraged to potentially meet with them at some point,’ the three-time major champion said. ‘We probably feel like our membership should know timings, and what could happen.’
Spieth said he feels the entire board should meet with the PIF if any deal is going to be struck.
Maybe it’s just a meet,’ he added. ‘But we are being encouraged obviously which I think is probably a good thing that the entire board should if there’s going to be any potential for a negotiation.’
Spieth also played down his apparent disagreement with Rory McIlroy during the first round of The Players on Thursday. An eight-minute delay ensued after McIlroy pulled a drive left into the water, as the Northern Irishman appeared to be in debate with Spieth, his playing partner, over the correct location for his drop.
Spieth appeared to question whether McIlroy’s drive had bounced before crossing the red hazard marker. That would have sent McIlroy 250 yards back up the course to a spot in front of the tee box for his third shot.
‘I was just listening to the conversation of Rory and Viktor (Hovland),’ Spieth insisted. ‘Rory had said, “We think it crossed up there, it could have been back there, so this seems like somewhere in between.” ‘But then that sounds like something you probably should verify with a rules official, and then he did, and it was all good.’
