PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan on June 6 shocked the golf world with news that archrival golf tours — the PGA and LIV Golf — were merging to form one professional golf entity.
The details are still being negotiated behind closed doors, so you and I won’t be in the loop. Unfortunately, if the past is any indicator, neither will the players. (Many PGA players, like their fans, learned of the momentous merger via Twitter. LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman reportedly was uninformed as well.)
Apparently, Monahan will be CEO of the new yet-to-be-named golf entity, and the PGA Tour will have a majority stake in it. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which pays for LIV Golf, will join the board of the PGA Tour, and become chairman of the board of the new combined entity.
We haven’t heard much else from Monahan, but plenty has been said about him. Some PGA players, fans and relatives of those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks quickly labeled Monahan a hypocrite for merging with the Saudi-backed league he had trashed for two years, given the country’s past financial ties to terrorist groups and human rights record.
On June 13, one week after his stunning merger announcement, Monahan told the PGA board he was stepping away to recover from an “unspecified medical situation.” Golf Digest reported, “According to the tour, chief operating officer Ron Price and executive vice president Tyler Dennis will lead day-to-day operations in Monahan’s absence. No additional details about Monahan’s condition were released.”
I don’t like when such a huge decision is reached in secrecy, keeping those most affected — the players — in the dark. The 20 players who left the PGA to join LIV celebrate the merger because they’ve already gotten their millions, which is what this is all about. Those who defected to LIV received huge inducements and contracts.
Players who refused LIV’s financial enticements and remained loyal to the PGA have now come up short. What was the point of refusing LIV’s millions if the PGA itself was ultimately willing to accept the Saudis’ money?
We’ll see what happens to assuage the PGA players’ anger — and wallets.
The PGA, meanwhile, has increased the amount of its purses, prompting some players to point out that the tour clearly had money it could have been spending on its players all along.
It’s all disheartening to those of us who just want to watch the world’s best golfers each week — and who have no prayer of getting even $1 million — for golf or anything else.
MEANWHILE… the Florida Panthers ended their National Hockey League season, losing four games to one in the NHL finals against Las Vegas.
MORE INTERESTINGLY, at least to my friend Sam and me, is the Miami Heat. After making a late run against stronger opponents, the Heat finally faced a team they couldn’t handle, losing in five games to the Denver Nuggets.
Despite the NBA’s season ending, there’s been plenty of action off the court.
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant posed for photos while waving a gun and posted them online. The NBA didn’t approve and Commissioner Adam Silver suspended him without pay for 25 games. It’ll cost him $6.5 million and he has to promise to behave.
And finally, Michael Jordan and his group plan to sell their majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets.
