Tiger Woods' secret meeting with top players on the PGA Tour could lead to its next stage of evolution

• Tiger Woods flew to Delaware ahead of the BMW Championship to meet with some of the top players on the PGA Tour.
• Those in the meeting reportedly agreed to propose a new, extended schedule of elevated events to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

WILMINGTON, Delaware — Just before the best golfers in the world prepared to compete at Wilmington Country Club in the BMW Championship, another meeting of the minds took place at the Hotel du Pont.

Tiger Woods, who was not competing in the weekend's playoff tournament, flew to Delaware to hold a meeting with more than 20 of the other top players on PGA Tour to discuss the future of their sport and how best to respond to the threat of LIV Golf.

According to a report from Bob Harig at Sports Illustrated, the players left the meeting ready to bring PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan a proposal for a series of 18 tournaments, with $20 million purses and limited fields of just 60 players.

According to No Laying Up, the plan was to elevate purses at up to 15 events, which would allow for more of the top players to go up against each other on a more consistent basis.

Those in attendance, per No Laying Up, were:

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Cameron Young, Joaquin Niemann, Max Homa, Shane Lowry, Tyrell Hatton, Kevin Kisner, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler and Woods.

The meeting comes as the challenge posed by LIV Golf continues to threaten the PGA Tour, with numerous top players making the jump to the new, Saudi-backed, upstart league.

One of LIV Golf's biggest selling points to fans is the fact that it can guarantee its biggest names will go up against each other at each tournament it hosts. On the PGA Tour, conversely, players are free to build their own schedules, leaving some events with just a few of the top players in the world actually competing.

The new proposal could potentially alleviate that uncertainty, pitting the best players in the world against each other on a regular basis outside of golf's four majors.

The meeting also signals a strong sense of unity amongst a core group of the top players on the PGA Tour. The list reported by No Laying Up includes 14 of the 15 top-ranked players in the world at the moment. Should they all stay the course, it would be tough for LIV Golf to pass the PGA Tour in terms of talent.

Woods' presence at the meeting also is indicative of his role as the leader of the PGA Tour, despite his days of regular play being far behind him.

"I mean, I think it's pretty apparent that whenever we all get in the room, there's an alpha in there, and it's not me," said Rory McIlroy of Woods' presence at the meeting.