PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – At 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, the TPC Sawgrass practice area was nearly empty. There was Scottie Scheffler, dialing in his wedges. There was Justin Thomas, perfecting his stroke. There was Sam Burns, heading out for an early-morning practice round.
For that trio, at least, there was little reason to attend the highly-anticipated players meeting that had just gotten underway about 100 yards away, inside the stately clubhouse. As three of the Tour’s top players, they already knew what was on the agenda. They were integral, after all, in the eventual policymaking.
So was Rory McIlroy, and yet, he was in the room Tuesday morning, with roughly 50 of his peers, even though he’d been at the forefront of this Tour overhaul; even though he co-hosted the stars-only meeting last summer; even though he’d grinded through the machinations and monotony of a seven-hour board meeting last week at Bay Hill, when many of the details of the 2024 Tour schedule were approved.