Since the announcement that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund that finances LIV Golf will come together in an historic deal, there have been plenty of questions on exactly what it means for the future of the game and how events will play out.
Even most leading figures in the game have been blindsided by the move, and that includes eight-time Major winning legend Tom Watson, who has written an open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour board seeking answers on the implications.
In it, Watson alludes to the frustrations felt by many on the lack of transparency over the deal, arguing that “the communication has been mishandled.”
The first opportunity players had to question PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan following the announcement came before the RBC Canadian Open, which included calls for him to resign. While Watson didn’t attend the meeting, the letter addresses the frustrations aired in it by stating that the Tour’s stakeholders, including players and sponsors, require an explanation “of the benefits of forming this partnership.”
Tom Watson’s open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan | Golf News and Tour Information | https://t.co/hSqu3MBu9e https://t.co/8JxXT6N5ykJune 19, 2023
After last week’s third Major of the year, the US Open, normality resumes on the PGA Tour with its latest designated event, the Travelers Championship, and Watson explains in the letter that he hopes the occasion is used to answer some of the questions players have on the issue, including what the partnership means for the Tour, what members will get from it, what they will give up and why there was so much secrecy over the deal.
The announcement explained a new entity will be formed with Monahan as its CEO and the PIF’s Yasir A-Rumayyan as its chairman, and that it would receive investment from the Saudis. However, Watson also queries how much is an acceptable percentage to the PGA Tour, and whether it even has guidelines on the issue.
The letter also addresses the moral quandary some players could face given the reported plan to compensate loyal PGA Tour players for rejecting LIV Golf. Watson asks: “Surely, that alone misses the larger issue of context here?” and also questions what plans are in place to reinstate players to the Tour who had defected to LIV Golf.
Last week, a leaked letter sent by Monahan to Congress came to light, in which he admitted that without the deal, the PGA Tour face “the…
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