20 June 2023 , 22:01
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The PGA Tour has reassured its playing members that the involvement of Saudi Arabia in their new joint entity with LIV Golf is not as large as first thought.
The world of professional golf was left in shock earlier this month, after the Tour announced it had come to an agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), that would see it merge with rival LIV Golf. The PGA Tour and LIV had been involved in a bitter feud for 12 months prior to the announcement.
However, the two rivals are now set to work under the same entity along with the DP World Tour, with the investment coming from Saudi Arabia.
Since the deal was announced, details on the proposed merger have been limited. Ahead of this week's Travelers Championship though there has been an encouraging update for all those involved with the American-based circuit.
Per the Golf Channel, it appears it is the PGA Tour who hold the cards ahead of PIF and LIV Golf in the agreement, with the Tour 'maintaining leadership' of both the joint, profit-based entity between circuits - since named NewCo - as well as the PGA Tour organisation itself.
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The Saudi's involvement has been played down by the PGA Tour (Seth Wenig/AP/REX/Shutterstock)It is claimed the Tour will look to reassure players that safeguards are built into the deal to limit Saudi influence as it looks to win back the trust of players who have been left feeling betrayed. Of course, one of the main concerns for many surrounding the deal was the involvement of PIF, after Tour commissioner had repeatedly criticised its involvement with LIV Golf over the past year.
The latest claims suggests that the Saudi involvement is not as large as first thought, with PIF initially making a 'minor investment' into the NewCo setup, whilst the Tour have the option to decline any future Saudi investments that may come their way. The Tour's players are set to hear more on the news at a meeting at the Travelers Championship on Tuesday.
Jay Monahan is the man in charge of the PGA Tour (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)On Monday, Tour legend Tom Watson questioned the Saudi funding in a brutal open letter to commissioner Jay Monhan.
Watson wrote: "Before this agreement is finalized, I wonder, does the PGA Tour have guidelines? Have we, as a body, defined an acceptable percentage of PIF funding in the proposed partnership? These questions are compounded by the hypocrisy in disregarding the moral issue; a position which for a long time was publicly highlighted by Tour leadership."
Monahan has already led one player meeting on the back of the agreement at the recent RBC Canadian Open, which he described as 'intense' and heated'. This time around, the commissioner will not be in attendance after he was forced to temporarily step down from operations at last week's US Open due to medical reasons.