One of the most shocking events in golf history has come and gone as the PGA Tour and LIV Golf united under a single umbrella last week — and commissioner Jay Monahan reportedly told PGA Tour employees that it simply couldn't afford the fight against the Saudi Arabian league, per the Wall Street Journal.
“Commissioner Jay Monahan told PGA Tour employees during a meeting Thursday that it couldn't financially afford to keep spending tens of millions of dollars in its legal fight against Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund while continuing to increase its own purses to keep players from defecting to the rival LIV Golf League,” wrote ESPN's Mark Schlabach on Saturday.
Monahan revealed in Florida that the PGA Tour's financial model was not sustainable against Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which is reportedly worth over $620 billion in assets.
“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money,” Monahan told his employees, per the WSJ. “This was the time. We waited to be in the strongest possible position to get this deal in place.”
Monahan reportedly also told employees that the tour had spent over $50 million in legal fees and already used reserve money to increase player money and bonuses.
“To characterize that this agreement was made due to litigation costs and other use of reserves is an oversimplification,” a PGA Tour spokesperson told ESPN on Saturday. “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.”
Still, Jay Monahan has been strongly criticized by human rights groups following the merger, due to Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses and alleged involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“I understand all the human rights concerns,” Monahan said. “I've had them myself.”
Follow Us
Subscribe