PGA Tour - PIF Saudi deal interview scheduled

On July 11, a special subcommittee in the US Senate will publicly question the PGA Tour's joint venture with the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

The autopsy is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., and will be chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal, R-Ky., as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

According to Golf Channel on June 21, Mr. Blumenthal signed and issued invitations to PGA Tour Special Envoy Jay Monahan, Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf League CEO Greg Norman. The document requires the parties to prepare an explanation of the origin of the deal, the specific terms and methods of cooperation as well as the impacts, including risks, on the future of American professional golf. Many PGA Tour members are also invited to attend online.

PIF Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman will have to explain before the US Senate about the joint venture deal with the PGA Tour. Photo: Golf Digest

Immediately after receiving the invitation from the Senate, the PGA Tour responded: "We look forward to answering questions about the framework agreement with the Saudi PIF, in which the PGA Tour remains a leader in the future of professional golf and benefits the industry. The immediate partnership ends a costly legal dispute with the LIV Golf League and the Saudi PIF." Recently, the PGA Tour announced internally that the organization has spent $50 million on litigation back and forth with the Saudi economic organization.

Special Envoy Monahan is temporarily taking a break from the PGA Tour to recuperate after a health incident, and it is unclear when he will return. In the PGA Tour leadership, Monahan holds the ultimate power. When negotiating with PIF Saudi, only he, the President and his deputy on the policy council directly negotiated with PIF President Al-Rumayyan. Norman was not involved in this process, despite being the CEO of LIV Golf League. This arena is owned by PIF Saudi, will merge commercial operations with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, and operate through a common legal entity. This project was jointly announced by Monahan and Al-Rumayyan on NBC on June 6. The most powerful figure in PIF Saudi informed Norman just minutes before going on air.

The US government is concerned about the implications of the deal, especially after the PGA Tour reversed course after two years of fighting with PIF Saudi. The US Department of Justice also launched an investigation into possible antitrust violations after the two sides announced plans to form a joint venture. US lawyers say antitrust laws could be problematic because it would combine three large organizations into one legal entity with the potential for dominance.

The Justice Department’s involvement could put the PGA Tour-DP World Tour-PIF Saudi alliance in limbo or at risk of collapse. According to Golf Digest, PGA Tour leaders in a recent meeting considered the possibility that the deal could take at least a year to come to fruition.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States may also intervene on national economic security grounds.

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