LOS ANGELES — Eight-time major champion Tom Watson wants answers about the PGA Tour’s new business partnership with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, asking in a letter Monday to Commissioner Jay Monahan whether a deal is the only way to solve the tour’s financial distress.
That was one of several questions Watson asked in the letter, which was obtained by the Associated Press and sent to Monahan, the PGA Tour Board and “fellow players.”
He said the questions were “compounded by hypocrisy in ignoring the moral issue”.
the next day Windham Clark became the latest major champion by winning the US Open, the focus has shifted back to the problem that has consumed golf for the past few years. it took An amazing change June 6 when the PGA Tour announced that it had joined forces with the Saudi National Wealth Fund and the European Tour to bring business under one roof.
Monahan referred to it as a “framework agreement,” and he had few answers for the players in it Meeting two weeks ago at the Canadian Open. A Players Advisory Council meeting is scheduled for the Tuesday before the Travelers Tournament in Connecticut.
Monahan, who I moved away For the “medical situation” Wednesday, he is not expected to attend. Two of its senior executives are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the tour.
Tour said in June 6 announcement That Yasser Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, take over the presidency of the new company and that Manahan will be the CEO. Two members of the PGA Tour’s board of directors, Ed Herlihy and Jimmy DunnYou will join them on the Executive Committee.
The deal contains assurances that the round will retain controlling voting ownership in the new business entity regardless of how much the PIF contributes, according to a person briefed on the agreement.
The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been made public, said the agreement allows for financial investment from the Public Investment Fund and pooling of current and future investments of the three golf-related parties. This will include LIV Golf.
The source said the agreement stipulates that the company’s new board of directors will have majority representation appointed by the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour will still have full authority over how its competition is run.
Key details are still missing such as the future of the LIV Golf. Dustin Johnson and Brison Dechambeau said they are planning for the 2024 season.
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal suggested Sunday that congressional hearings could take place within weeks.
Blumenthal is the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the subcommittee wanted facts about the deal, who was behind it, and details of the structure and governance of the new company.
“There are very few details,” Blumenthal said. “But remember, what we have here is essentially an oppressive, authoritarian foreign government taking control of a cherished creative American institution for the express purpose of cleansing its public image,” he said.
One key to agreement was ending all litigation. Saudi-sponsored PGA Tour and LIV Golf Apply Friday to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit the LIV players filed in August, the counterclaim the tour filed in September and even the PIF’s appeal to the 9th United States Court of Appeals to avoid having to file depositions in the lawsuits. It cannot be rewritten.
Monahan said the lawsuits — a trial date is not expected until at least mid-2024 with so many filings between them — Contribute to a “big” achievement for the tour.
In his letter, Watson said, “Is the Public Investment Fund the only viable rescue from the Tour’s financial woes? Is/is there a Plan B? And again, what is the exchange exactly?”
he pointed out hypocrisy twice, particularly as it relates to criticism from groups such as the 9/11 Families United in Contrast Tour.
“My loyalty to golf and this country lives in the same place and has equal and great weight with me throughout my life,” said Watson. “Please educate me and others in a way that allows for loyalty to both, and in a way that makes it easier to look the 9/11 families in the eye and to look ourselves in the mirror.”
Watson isn’t the only one with questions. The Department of Justice’s antitrust division has been reviewing the golf landscape since last summer and now it is He began to look on the round’s agreement with the Saudis and whether it violated federal antitrust laws. The investigation is still in its early stages, as the agreement is barely two weeks old and is still being finalized.
Monahan said everything in the framework agreement would be subject to board approval.
Blumenthal told CBS that he believes a hearing will be possible “within weeks.”
“The American people deserve a clear look at the facts here,” he said. “Again, not pre-judging what the conclusions will be. But what the Saudis are doing here is not controlling one team or signing one player. They are in fact taking charge of the whole sport, not just the Saudi player. It’s the individual. It’s the system.”