PGA Tour says top players WILL have a say in new partnership with Saudi PIF – and reveals they will have to approve any agreement between the two sides of golf’s civil war
- This came about after a meeting of the policy board, which has five players on it
- The PGA Tour is set to have controlling ownership in the new entity they form
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Top players on the PGA Tour have been told they will have a say in the new partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund in its upcoming merger.
That’s according to a statement from the tour’s policy board – which includes golfers Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman, and Peter Malnati – saying that ‘noted players would have to approve any final agreement between’ the tours, according to Sky.
Many outlets published the framework for an agreement between the Saudis, the PGA Tour, and the DP World Tour saying they would work to decide how LIV Golf defectors could return to the elite circuit and what punishments they might face.
Players were blindsided when the agreement was announced after being negotiated secretly by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, two of its board members Ed Herlihy and Jimmy Dunne, and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
The two tours agreed to dismiss any pending and active lawsuits between the two parties.
The PGA Tour says players will have to approve any agreement between the tour and the PIF
This came about after a policy board meeting, which Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy are on
The PGA Tour will have majority control over the new company they form with the PIF (Pictured: Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan)
‘Entering the framework agreement put an end to costly litigation. Management, with input from our player directors, has now begun a new phase of negotiations to determine if the tour can reach a definitive agreement that is in the best interests of our players, fans, sponsors, partners, and the game overall,’ the PGA said in a statement.
‘If future negotiations lead to a proposed agreement, it would need approval by the tour’s policy board, which includes player directors.
‘In the meantime, we are all committed to the safeguards in the framework agreement that ensure the PGA Tour would lead and maintain control of this potential new commercial entity,’ the statement continued.
The PGA’s policy board met on Tuesday as golfers gear up for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan.
Many of the PGA Tour’s best players are skipping out on this event after a grueling June schedule that started with a designated event in the Memorial Tournament, continued with the US Open, and ended last week with the final non-major and non-playoff designated event of the calendar – the Travelers Championship.
Those taking the week off include both McIlroy and Cantlay.
The current framework agreement calls for the two tours to form a new commercial entity, now known under the ambiguous title ‘NewCo’.
Congress has begun the process of investigating the deal, as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and its chair, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, will hold a hearing on July 11.