The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the PIF announced a landmark agreement earlier this month to try and unify the men’s game; Tom Watson questioned the ‘hypocrisy’ around the deal in an open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan
Last Updated: 19/06/23 7:31pm
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The deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund continued to dominate the news agenda ahead of the US Open in Los Angeles.
The deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund continued to dominate the news agenda ahead of the US Open in Los Angeles.
Eight-time major winner Tom Watson says the PGA Tour’s new partnership with Saudi Arabia appears to indicate “a more desperate financial situation than has been previously revealed by the Tour”.
Watson has written an open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan about the “unanswered questions” he and many other professional players have regarding the shock announcement on June 6 concerning the creation of a new commercial entity designed to “unify golf”.
The announcement brought an end to litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, a series backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) which will now provide the financial backing for the new commercial entity.
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Justin Rose raises questions on what the new agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF actually means for the players, ahead of the US Open.
Prior to the announcement, Monahan had been an outspoken critic of LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia, and Watson wrote: “The reversal (in position) does appear to indicate a more desperate financial situation than has been previously revealed by the Tour.
“While last week I learned the significant news that litigation around the Tour/LIV conflict would be terminated with prejudice, that only solves one significant financial problem.
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PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne says that he is ‘uite certain that the PIF Saudis he is dealing with had nothing to do with 9/11.
“It is important to understand how all of this has impacted the Tour’s Reserve Fund and the Tour’s overall financial solvency. Have funds been depleted to the point where the Tour needs an unprecedented capital injection to remain solvent now or for the future?
“My overarching questions remain. Is the PIF the only viable rescue from the Tour’s financial problems? Was/is there a plan B? And again, what exactly is the exchange? We need clarity and deserve full disclosure as to the financial health of the PGA Tour and the details of this proposed partnership.”
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The United States Senate has opened an investigation into the proposed partnership, while the Wall Street Journal reported last week that a PGA Tour official informed employees that the US Justice Department also plans to review the agreement for antitrust concerns.
The PGA Tour said last week when the Wall Street Journal report was published: “We are confident that once all stakeholders learn more about how the PGA Tour will lead this new venture, they will understand how it benefits our players, fans, and sport while protecting the American institution of golf.”
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The Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard explains the next steps following the agreement between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour after a court case ended on Friday.
While Jack Nicklaus gave previously a nod of approval to the merger, calling it “good for the game of golf,” while Watson hopes more questions will be answered by PGA Tour management at the Travelers Championship.
Watson added: “What does acceptance of this partnership mean to the Tour? What do we get? What do we give up? Why was this deal done in such secrecy and why wasn’t even one of the players who sits on the Tour’s Policy Board included?
“A matter this profound deserves thorough vetting by a representative group of stakeholders which include those, who in the end, define the public image and emotional connection with the PGA Tour.”
The PGA Tour continues this week at the Travelers Championship, live on Thursday from midday via the red button on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 8pm.