Jay Monahan says PGA couldn’t afford cost of Saudi fight: Report
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PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been criticised as a hypocrite for making the deal with the Saudis.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK – Commissioner Jay Monahan said the PGA Tour could not afford a legal fight with LIV Golf’s Saudi Arabian backers and higher purses to prevent player defections, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Saturday.
The newspaper reported that he told tour employees in a meeting last Thursday at its Florida headquarters that it was an unsustainable financial battle to challenge the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), worth a reported US$606 billion (S$814.2 billion) in assets, US$45 billion in cash and cash equivalents and US$85 billion in treasury assets.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF announced a merger last Tuesday
“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money. We waited to be in the strongest possible position to get this deal in place,” Monahan told employees, according to the Journal.
Monahan said the PGA Tour had already spent US$50 million in legal fees and taken another US$100 million from reserve funds to finance increased purses in new “designated events” and for other bonus payments to players, the newspaper said.
The PGA boosted prize money by US$100 million for its events from last season’s levels and doubled Player Impact Programme bonus money to US$100 million for 20 top players from 2022.
A PGA-LIV legal fight, wiped out by the deal, was set for a court date next May but could have dragged on much longer.
The PGA Tour has also had to be concerned with a US Department of Justice antitrust investigation, one that figures to produce deeper scrutiny in the wake of the merger.
Monahan, who was revealed by the Golf Channel to have earned US$13.9 million in 2021, has been criticised as a hypocrite for making the deal with the Saudis by not only several PGA players but also Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attack victims’ family groups who decry alleged Saudi links to the tragedy.
He had used 9/11 families in criticising LIV’s Saudi backers for more than a year in his battle to prevent PGA players from departing.
The Journal reported that the commissioner was asked how he would explain the deal to his daughters given Saudi human rights issues with women.
After a long pause, Monahan explained that the circumstances forced him to “think about all of our players... think about everybody in this room”.
“I understand all the human rights issues. I’ve had them all myself,” he added, according to the report.
The PGA Tour has since responded to the WSJ report, saying via a statement: “To characterise that this agreement was made due to litigation costs and other use of reserves is an oversimplification.
“With the end of the fractured landscape in the world of men’s professional golf, the PGA Tour has never been a more valuable property...
“This transaction will make professional golf more competitive with other professional sports and sports leagues.” AFP
