2023: 2Monahan Tells US Lawmakers That PGA Tour Was Left On its Own To Fend Off Saudis

L.A.: Because of the United States’ geopolitical ties with the monarchy, Commissioner Jay Monahan told congressional members that the PGA Tour was “left on our own” to thwart Saudi Arabia’s attempt to monopolize the sport via LIV Golf.

On June 9, three days after the PGA Tour’s shocking revelation of an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the European tour to pool commercial business and rights in a new entity, Monahan addressed the letter to several senators.

Even if it hasn’t been finalized, the agreement will end legal disputes between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund. The PGA Tour retaliated by investing millions of dollars into its tournament purses after LIV Golf lured away some of golf’s best stars with signing bonuses of $100 million or more in the previous year.

When the PIF attempted to monopolize the game of golf in the United States, Monahan wrote, “We met with several Members of Congress and policy experts to discuss this intense battle and suggested ways that Congress could support us in these efforts.” “While we appreciate the written statements of support we have gotten from some members, we were mostly left to defend ourselves against the attacks, presumably because of the intricate geopolitical partnership between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This jeopardized the PGA TOUR’s long-term viability and the possibility of another ten years of expensive and time-consuming litigation.

The head of a Senate subcommittee demanded documents from the PGA Tour and Saudi golf interests three days after Monahan’s letter, which was first reported by Politico and obtained by The Associated Press due to “serious questions” about how the arrangement was reached.

The head of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, also stated that he was interested in learning the PGA Tour’s strategy for maintaining its tax-exempt status.

Monahan’s letter was redacted, so it was unclear who he addressed it to, but it was assumed that only some members of Congress received it.

According to Monahan, the agreement with LIV Golf, a 48-player league with a team component that competes in eight of its 14 tournaments in the U.S., was not a merger.

“We believe that we did everything we possibly could to defend what we stand for, including spending tens of millions of dollars to defend ourselves from litigation instigated by LIV Golf — significant funds were diverted away from our core mission to benefit our players and generate charity,” Monahan said.

He claimed that because a judge determined that the Saudi wealth fund was conducting commercial activity in the United States, the visit helped get a federal court decision that PIF was not protected under the Foreign Service Sovereignty Act. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has heard an appeal of that decision, postponing the antitrust claims until the middle of next year.

According to Monahan, the agreement with LIV Golf, a 48-player league with a team component that competes in eight of its 14 tournaments in the U.S., was not a merger.

Last week, it was announced that PIF, the PGA, and the European Tour would combine their corporate interests. This included LIV Golf, which PIF finances. The future of LIV Golf and the process for players who left the PGA Tour to compete are still up in the air.

Even in a confrontational player meeting last week at the Canadian Open, Monahan could not provide much information about the accord, referring to it simply as a framework.

Monahan said in his letter to Congress that the arrangement would permit the PGA Tour to continue operating tournaments as usual, with him serving as commissioner and New York attorney Ed Herlihy as board chairman.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan would serve as the company’s chairman, while Monahan would serve as its CEO for the new for-profit organization, which he described as a division of the PGA Tour. Al-Rumayyan oversees Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund.

Monahan’s letter was redacted, so it was unclear who he addressed it to, but it was assumed that only some members of Congress received it.

The executive committee would be made up of Monahan, Al-Rumayyan, Herlihy, and Jimmy Dunne, a member of the PGA Tour board who assisted in negotiating the agreement.

Regardless of PIF’s investment magnitude, the PGA Tour will always have the majority of the Board seats and govern this new business, according to Monahan, who added that PIF would only be a minor shareholder.

“At its core, the PIF is investing in the PGA Tour, as it has invested in other U.S.-based companies,” he said. The PGA Tour and its events will carry on as usual, having a considerable positive social and economic impact in the areas where they are held.

SOURCE – (AP)