Players express doubt over LIV deal after meeting with PGA commissioner Monahan
The PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, had his first meeting with players on Tuesday afternoon since his return to work, offering few details on the surprise agreement with the Saudi backer of LIV Golf. Two players at the meeting expressed doubt that the agreement between the PGA and LIV will be finalised in the near future.
The meeting was lacking in details and attendance, with only 25 players attending in the clubhouse at the TPC Southwind in Tennessee.
Rory McIlroy returned from a workout and walked into the clubhouse a few minutes before the meeting ended. Patrick Cantlay did not attend either. Both players are PGA Tour board members and have been on previous calls.
Monahan had what he described as an intense meeting on 6 June in Canada, the day players discovered he had negotiated an agreement to form a partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the European Tour. Jon Rahm, the Masters champion, said players felt “a sense of “betrayal” that the deal was negotiated in secret. The Olympic champion, Xander Schauffele, said before last month’s Scottish Open that he and other players had lost a lot of trust in Monahan.
“I put players on their back foot,” Monahan said on Wednesday. “That’s something I regret and will not do again.”
A week after the 6 June meeting, Monahan took a leave for medical reasons. He returned on 17 July. On Wednesday, he said the absence had been due to anxiety brought on by the stress of the deal.
“There’s still a whole lot that no one really knows, and we don’t know,” Rickie Fowler said of Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s just continuing to trust that leadership and everyone is doing what’s best for all of us and the tour moving forward. Some of that was talked about in calls before this. There really wasn’t that many guys in the meeting, or less than I thought there would have been.”
Tom Hoge said it was his ninth year going to player meetings and “not a lot comes from it”. “It was good just to have Jay there in front of us, see him again and see that he’s doing well,” he said. “Who knows what the path is going forward? I’ll guess we’ll just wait and see.”
When asked if there is a feeling the deal may not get done, Hoge described that as a “very real possibility”. Hoge added: “There’s a lot of moving parts that have to come together for it.”
The framework agreement requires a deal to be finalized by 31 December, though both sides can agree to extend discussions. The deal is also under scrutiny from the US Senate.
Among the proposals is for Monahan to be CEO of a new for-profit company in which PIF, the PGA Tour and the European Tour pool commercial business and rights. Yasir al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor, would be chairman of the new company. He also would join the PGA Tour board.
Monahan last week responded to demands from 41 players that players on the board can approve or decline any potential changes to the tour as part of the Saudi agreement, and that no major decisions can be made without involvement and approval of players on the board.
Tiger Woods joined the board, giving the players six votes, compared with four votes a year ago. The other players are McIlroy, Cantlay, Charley Hoffman, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson. There are five non-playing executives on the board, which gives the players a voting advantage should they band together.
Fowler said questions included what would happen if the deal wasn’t finalized, whether other investors were interested and how sustainable the tour was.
“There are a lot of parts that have to come together,” he said. “You obviously have to get a majority, if not unanimous, as far as board and player support. Yes, there are a lot of things that have to come together for this to happen, and I would say that you’d have to sell everyone on that this is the best option for the tour, for the players, for everyone moving forward. I’m not saying that’s not possible.”