LIV golfers assured rebel series will continue as it is
LIV Golf has assured its players that the rebel series will continue as it is in the future and that they should not worry about the prospect of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan cancelling the breakaway circuit at the end of this year.
Since the Tour stunned the game last Tuesday by announcing the alliance with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF), it has been predicted that as Monahan will be the chief executive of the new company — that also includes the DP World Tour — he will look to disband LIV, the 14-team competition which in its year of existence has already been funded to the tune of more than £1.5 billion.
But Telegraph Sport revealed on Saturday that Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund and LIV chairman, phoned the contracted LIV players on the day the partnership was revealed promising they had made the right choice, with signing-on fees upwards of £100 million. The other LIV players received an email.
“Yes got it last night,’ English pro Richard Bland told Telegraph Sport. “I don’t think anything is going to change. Jay certainly won’t be in charge of LIV.”
And so the scenario gets more confused still. Jimmy Dunne — the PGA Tour board member who, as a renowned investment banker, brought Monahan to the table with Al-Rumayyan — has stated that as the CEO of the new company with a majority vote on the board, Monahan has the “authority to determine whether the breakaway circuit will continue beyond this season”.
Another high-level Tour official insists that if Monahan does include a team element in the reformed schedules then it will not be known as “LIV” and will be different in format.
But this clearly runs contrary to what Al-Rumayyan — who is also the chairman of Newcastle United — has conveyed to the LIV golfers.
Martin Kaymer, the two-time major winner who is one of the 14 captains, has described that on his call from Al-Rumayyan he was “congratulated for making the right choice”. “I’m very proud of myself,” Kaymer said. “For PIF to come in now and buy the PGA Tour, support the PGA Tour, surprised everyone I guess.”
Dunne is certain, however, that despite holding the strings of a purse that contains billions, Al-Rumayyan, who will be chairman of the newly formed conglomerate, will definitely not be in charge.
“Under the heading of insane, you can put that one,” Dunne told Golf Channel “To quote Yasir, Jay Monahan is the CEO of the Tour. Under the new agreement we’re going to explore new opportunities, but the Tour will always maintain control – 100 per cent. The PIF understand and have no problem, and they’re OK with the manager running it, in making a minority investment.
Dunne detailed why this is so important. “As much as I like the people I dealt with, the legacy of the game of golf is too important – we have no desire, no need — there’s no way on God’s green earth that we’re going to give up control, I don’t know how else to say that,” he said.
“I can assure you that that [giving up control] is not ever going to happen. They [PIF] have tremendous resources, if they’re uncomfortable with that they could have walked away at any second. We’re not going to turn over control to anybody, because it’s not just about the financial thing — it’s about the game of golf.”
That seems plain enough, except over the weekend it emerged that the Tour had spelt out to its staff exactly why it merged with PIF — it could not afford to carry on with the legal battle with LIV Golf.
Lawyers fees have risen towards the £50 million mark and with no end in sight in the US courts and with the £300 million Tour reserves suddenly looking rather meagre when put up against the £600 billion PIF, Monahan decided the moment was ripe to enter talks.
“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money,” Monahan told employees, according to WSJ. “This was the time. We waited to be in the strongest possible position to get this deal in place.”
Last Tuesday’s announcement is still creating shockwaves throughout the sport, with one side claiming that they hold the trump cards — and the other side whispering the opposite.
As one insider said on Sunday: “Nobody really knows — not even the Tour tour brass or Al-Rumayyan. They’ll have months to negotiate all this, with specialists in the room, and everyone desperate not to give an inch. It will be fascinating what comes out of this.”
