Congress is getting involved in the reported merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. On Tuesday PGA Tour representatives Ron Price and Jimmy Dunne met with the U.S. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation. LIV Golf officials, PGA Tour Commissioner, and LIV Golf Commissioner were not in attendance. Some of the details on the PGA LIV Golf senate hearing have been coming out. And some of the details are juicy, but more on that later.
How’d We Get Here?
How did we get here? That one’s easy. The PGA Tour for decades were greedy and didn’t listen to the players bringing in the money. It’s too late for the Tour to make good on those asks now. Enter Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Governor of the fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan. His fund has upwards of $600 billion in funds. The PGA Tour is working with about $1.5 billion. It was unsustainable for the PGA Tour to continue to compete against basically unlimited funds. Long story short; the PGA Tour ignored their players for too long, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan has capitalized on the opening in the market.
What’s Next After The PGA LIV Golf Senate Hearing?
So what is the next step? It’s impossible to know that answer. But I think the next step is wait and see. Let’s all wait and see what the details of the agreement are between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour. I think it’s appropriate for Congress to get involved. But I don’t think that time is right now. There is no doubt that working with Yasir, PIF, and Saudi Arabia could be potentially “sports washing” a regime with a questionable human rights record. But oil-rich nations know their product is a finite one. There is only so much oil, and once it’s gone it’s gone. They are using their wealth to create more wealth for generations to come. Maybe the idea of change in the name of financial gains is one worth exploring.
PGA Tour Want's Norman OUT
(Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)
According to documents released to Congress, PGA Tour officials have asked that LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman be removed from his once the merge is completed. I think this is an inevitability. Guys like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have said publicly that Norman would need to go in order to smooth relations over between PGA Tour member and LIV Golf. I’m sure he’ll make a pretty penny if he is forced out.
Tiger & Rory LIV Golf Team Owners
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
LIV Golf proposed Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy get ownership in their own LIV Golf team where they would play in at least 10 events a year. This one seems unlikely. Especially for Tiger. I’m sure LIV is wanting to use the value of the individual teams as compensation for elite players who remained with the PGA Tour.
Rory and Yasir Met in November
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In November of 2022 Rory McIlroy met with PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for a round of golf. According to the documents, Rory met with Yasir to discuss what a potential merger could look like. It was iterated that Rory was not looking for any personal financial game, just looking out for the overall good of the game. Believe that or not if you want.
Yasir Looking at Augusta and St. Andrew's
(Photo by Oisin Keniry/Getty Images)
Yasir Al-Rumayyan might actually be a big fan of golf. In addition to making a ton of money on this potential merger, Yasir reportedly wants a membership to Augusta National and to the Royal & Ancient at St. Andrew’s. Now being a member of those clubs is a status symbol, but it’s also something any golf fan would try to weasel their way in to. Augusta does have a policy that if you ask to become a member you’ll never become one. Maybe they lift that policy for Yasir who will become the most powerful person in golf if he gets his way.
Money for PGA Tour Players
(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
It was revealed that in private email communication that Yasir Al-Rumayyan is prepared to set up a “substantial equalization fund” for players who turned down LIV invitations and stayed with the PGA Tour. Those emails were between PGA Tour Board member Jimmy Dunne and Roger Devlin, who is a close advisor to Yasir, in initial communication.
