The first Senate hearing on the PGA Tour’s proposed agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment fund took place on Tuesday, with the three hour hearing shedding plenty of light on the deal that shocked the golf world.
PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price and Board Member Jimmy Dunne were present to answer questions on the tour’s behalf, with Senator Blumenthal leading questions alongside other senators.
The PGA Tour representatives were sworn in shortly after Blumenthal’s opening statement at 10am. “Today’s hearing is about much more than the game of golf,” Blumenthal said. “It is about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence – indeed even take over – a cherished American institution simply to cleanse its public image.”
The hearing was a fascinating watch, with Price and Dunne revealing plenty about the talks and framework deal, and a 276-page document shed more light on emails, presentations and plans for what might be next for the game if the deal goes through.
From the hope for Tiger and Rory owning LIV teams to PIF Governor Yassir Al-Rumayyan becoming a member of Augusta, a ‘broad’ non-disparagement clause and the future of Greg Norman, here are some of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s hearing…
Over $1bn
After being sworn in, PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price was asked how much PIF’s investment in the PGA Tour would be.
“North of $1 billion,” was his answer.
‘LIV can gut us’
Throughout the hearing, it was made clear from Price and Dunne that the PGA Tour simply could not compete with LIV and the PIF’s financial power in the long run. Whether it be from lawsuits or player poaching, the tour simply had to try and join forces with the PIF.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan last month said the framework deal was done to take a “competitor off of the board,” and Board member Dunne put it frankly at Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
“If LIV takes five players a year for five years, they can gut us,” Dunne said.
“It was very clear to us and to all who loved the PGA Tour and the game of golf as a whole that the dispute was undermining the growth of our sport and was threatening the very survival of the PGA Tour,” Price stated.
Non-disparagement clause
The non-disparagement clause was brought up time and time again throughout the hearing, with Senator Blumenthal recommending that it isn’t included in the final agreement, calling it “as broad as I’ve ever seen”. The clause relates to the PGA Tour members making disparaging remarks…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…