PGA Tour defends LIV Golf deal ahead of Senate hearing

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A PGA TOUR logo is seen aft play was suspended owed to terrible storms during the 3rd circular of THE PLAYERS Championship held astatine THE PLAYERS Stadium people astatine TPC Sawgrass connected May 14, 2011 successful Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

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The PGA Tour has begun its nationalist defence of its woody with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf up of a cardinal Senate hearing slated for Tuesday.

The tour's Chief Operating Officer Ron Price, who is acceptable to attest Tuesday, released an op-ed successful The Athletic connected Monday defending the woody and explaining wherefore it was the champion result for the aboriginal of golf. He besides argued the statement should not beryllium considered a merger.

"Given the well-chronicled ineligible disputes that person existed betwixt the PGA Tour and PIF, we recognize the just and valid questions raised by PGA Tour members, Tour partners, media, fans and present Congress," Price said successful the op-ed.

The portion comes days aft a shakeup astatine the PGA Tour's argumentation committee that added different wrinkle to what could beryllium a rocky roadworthy toward support of the deal.

Former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson connected Saturday resigned from the PGA Tour's argumentation board, which helium served connected since 2012. Stephenson stepped down arsenic lawmakers appeared apt to commencement a wide probe into the merger betwixt the PGA Tour and LIV, opening with Tuesday's Senate hearing.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Ron Johnson, the president and ranking subordinate of the Senate Homeland Security Committee's Permanent Subcommittee connected Investigations, respectively, called the gathering connected Tuesday. The senators requested officials from the circuit and Saudi Public Investment Fund to look earlier the panel.

While the senators requested grounds from PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, Price and argumentation committee autarkic manager Jimmy Dunne volition alternatively appear, the circuit said successful a connection past week. Monahan has been connected a leave of absence owed to an unspecified aesculapian situation, but precocious announced helium volition return to his relation connected July 17.

Jay Monahan, PGA TOUR Commissioner, speaks during the trophy ceremonial during the last circular of THE PLAYERS Championship connected THE PLAYERS Stadium Course astatine TPC Sawgrass connected March 12, 2023 successful Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

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"We look guardant to appearing earlier the Senate Subcommittee to reply their questions astir the model statement that keeps the PGA TOUR arsenic the person of nonrecreational golf's aboriginal and benefits our players, our fans, and our sport," a PGA Tour typical said successful a caller statement.

The circuit did not remark beyond Price's op-ed connected Monday.

The senators had said successful an earlier missive that the subcommittee would analyse the projected woody and the Saudi fund's "investment successful play successful the United States, the risks associated with a overseas government's concern successful American taste institutions, and the implications of this planned statement connected nonrecreational play successful the United States going forward."

It is chartless whether representatives for the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund volition testify. Representatives for PIF person not responded to aggregate requests for comment.

Defending the deal

Last month, the PGA Tour and PIF's LIV Golf, arsenic good arsenic Europe's DP World Tour, agreed to merge. While circumstantial presumption and the valuation of the woody person not been announced, an early framework of the projected woody shows it would make a for-profit subsidiary of the PGA Tour, and the caller entity would negociate commercialized assets for each the tours. The PGA Tour would negociate competitions.

The projected woody came arsenic a daze the the sports satellite — including the tour's ain players — pursuing months of tensions betwixt the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which led to some entities filing antitrust claims against each other. All litigation betwixt the 2 has been squashed arsenic portion of the projected deal.

Price, successful Monday's op-ed, acknowledged the woody was a astonishment aft 2 years of "unprecedented conflict."

Negotiations are inactive ongoing and the model ends litigation betwixt the 2 entities. Price contended that owed to the confidential quality of the deal, "much of the archetypal absorption has been negative, colored by misinformation oregon misunderstanding."

"That's thing we instrumentality afloat ownership of and profoundly regret. Moving forward, we firmly judge that the much the facts are discussed and understood, the further our constituents tin enactment a imaginable definitive statement — if reached — and look guardant to the affirmative and lasting interaction connected each levels of our game," Price said successful Monday's op-ed.

The 2 entities had been embroiled successful antitrust lawsuits since past year. LIV had sued the tour, alleging anti-competitive practices for banning its players, portion the circuit countersued, claiming LIV was stifling competition.

Price defended the model statement truthful acold arsenic a favorable result not lone for the tour, but besides for nonrecreational play arsenic a whole. He said the statement "provides clear, explicit and imperishable safeguards that guarantee the PGA Tour volition pb the decisions that signifier our future, and that we'll person power implicit our operations, strategy and continuity of our mission."

He added if the sides scope an agreement, it volition let further concern successful players, events, venues, communities and technology. The PIF has said it would put billions of dollars into the caller entity.

Price besides contended the woody "is not a merger." He wrote that the circuit would stay intact, and that the recently formed subsidiary volition see PIF arsenic a non-controlling, number investor, arsenic it is successful "many different American businesses." The bulk of the committee that leads the PGA Tour Enterprises volition beryllium appointed by the circuit and tally by Monahan.

Following the announcement, apical subordinate Rory McIlroy — who repeatedly slammed LIV Golf during the years of acrimony — expressed agitation astir the projected woody being referred to arsenic a merger.

LIV controversy

Controversy has surrounded LIV since its inception successful 2022. The PIF is not publically held and is simply a sovereign wealthiness money controlled by bin Salman. Critics person accused the money of "sportswashing," oregon utilizing LIV and different sports investments to amended the representation of the oil-rich federation and distract from the kingdom's past of quality rights violations.

Stephenson successful his resignation missive connected Saturday to chap committee members pointed to 1 of those alleged violations.

The circuit notified its members connected Sunday evening of Stephenson's departure from the argumentation board, according to a memo viewed by CNBC. It noted determination "is nary circumstantial clip framework successful which a successor autarkic manager has to beryllium appointed." The 4 remaining autarkic directors, successful consultation with the board's 5 subordinate directors and PGA director, volition enactment unneurotic to capable the position.

In the memo, helium wrote that helium had "serious concerns" astir the projected woody and whether helium could objectively measure oregon enactment it owed to the U.S. quality study assessing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi successful 2018. The memo was earlier reported by the Washington Post.

Stephenson's concerns astir accepting Saudi concern are akin to those voiced by others successful the tour, on with politicians. Stephenson didn't respond to requests for comment.

A U.S. Intelligence report from 2021 showed that the Saudi crown prince had approved an cognition to seizure oregon termination the writer Khashoggi successful 2018. It cited bin Salman's power of decision-making successful Saudi Arabia, arsenic good arsenic the engagement of a cardinal advisor and members of the prince's protective item successful the cognition that killed Khashoggi, a professional of the royal family.

Lawmakers person raised doubts astir the merger since the play tours announced it. Top Senate Democrats person called out antitrust concerns and person pressed for an enquiry into the merger.

"Fans, the players, and acrophobic citizens person galore questions astir the planned statement betwixt the PGA Tour and LIV Golf," Johnson said successful a merchandise past month.

While the Subcommittee connected Investigations has wide jurisdiction to probe matters including firm abuses, committee hearings are comparatively uncommon and typically people the aboriginal signifier of a longer investigation. The proceeding connected the merger is the committee's 2nd this year.

Prior to scheduling the meeting, Blumenthal had announced his volition to analyse the woody successful airy of Saudi Arabia's quality rights abuses.

When the woody was announced, Monahan acknowledged the daze and choler it triggered among players.

LIV Golf events were met with protests, peculiarly from the household members of those who perished successful the Sept. 11, 2001 violent attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers connected that time were from Saudi Arabia, and Osama bin Laden, the mastermind down the attacks, was calved successful the country. U.S. officials concluded that Saudi nationals helped to money the violent radical al-Qaeda, though the investigations didn't find that the Saudi officials were complicit successful the attacks.

Members of the radical 9/11 Families United slammed the deal. They person besides called retired Monahan for remarks successful an interrogation past summer, erstwhile helium said helium discussed the 9/11 connections with PGA Tour players and suggested the enactment stood connected a higher motivation crushed than LIV.

"I deliberation you'd person to beryllium surviving nether a stone not to cognize determination are important implications," Monahan said during the interrogation with CBS Sports. "I would inquire immoderate subordinate who has near oregon immoderate subordinate who would see leaving, 'Have you ever had to apologize for being a subordinate of the PGA tour?'"

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