Last week, the world of sports was hit with some rather shocking news when the PGA Tour announced a sort of merger with LIV Golf, partnering with Saudi Arabia – which financially backed LIV Golf with its Public Investment Fund. The move has generated a lot of criticism given Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations and ties to terrorism, but according to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan money talks.
This week, The Wall Street Journal revealed some comments that Jay Monahan made to his employees to explain the deal and his stunning reversal.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Monahan claimed that the PGA Tour didn’t have a lot of options going forward as it attempted to compete against the Saudis, who he claims have “unlimited money.”
“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money,” Monahan told his employees according to The Wall Street Journal. “This was the time….We waited to be in the strongest possible position to get this deal in place.”
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have concerns about partnering with the Saudis.
“I understand all the human rights concerns,” Monahan said. “I’ve had them myself.”
As the Wall Street Journal points out, Monahan actually made this reality clear a year ago, mentioning that LIV Golf had far more financial resources than the PGA Tour.
“If this is an arms race, and if the only weapons here are dollar bills, the PGA Tour can’t compete,” Monahan said last year.
It looks like that turned out to be the truth, after all.
