LOS ANGELES — The Jay Monahan scramble continues.
The embattled PGA Tour commissioner, who’s been on the back foot since LIV Golf pushed its way into men’s professional golf and he saw it as a threat to his tour, sent a letter to members of Congress and called them out for lack of support against the Saudi entity.
The letter he sent last week, which was obtained by Politico, in part blamed Congress for the surprising agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund the PGA Tour made last week, claiming that the tour was left “on our own’’ in its fight against the rival Saudi tour and league that’s funded by the PIF.
The letter was dated June 9, three days after the announcement about a “framework agreement’’ for the new alliance between the PGA Tour and LIV.
The new entity that came out of the alliance, which for now is being called “NewCo,” has Monahan as CEO with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, the chairman of the board.
“Over the past two years, the PGA Tour has fought an intense and highly publicized battle as the Saudi Arabian PIF-backed LIV golf league attempted to ‘buy’ PGA Tour players and take over the game of golf in the United States and beyond, creating a fractured golf ecosystem and fomenting a heated divisiveness into the game,’’ Monahan wrote. “We believe that we did everything we could possibly do to defend what we stand for, including spending tens of millions of dollars to defend ourselves from litigation instigated by LIV Golf – significant funds diverted away from our core mission to benefit our players and generate charity.”
Monahan said he met with several members of Congress to discuss LIV’s entry into golf in the U.S. and suggested ways that lawmakers could support the PGA Tour in its battle.
Those suggestions, Monahan intimated, were not taken by Congress.
PGA Tour and LIV Golf are ending a war — by joining forces.
The two golf leagues, along with the European DP World Tour, are merging into one company after a period of fierce rivalry, one where LIV Golf defectors were banned from competing on the Tour.
LIV, financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and led by legendary golfer Greg Norman, lured some of the top names in golf last year with reported nine-figure contracts, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Other huge golf names, however, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, stayed loyal to the Tour, despite being offered a massive amount of money.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
Norman said last year Woods turned down a payday in the range of $700 million-$800 million to stick with the PGA Tour.
With the merger, the Saudi-backed LIV and the Tour are ending an antitrust battle and agreed to end all litigation between the two sides.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model.”
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“As part of the litigation, we were successful in securing a court ruling that the PIF was not protected under sovereign immunity with respect to litigation discovery and potentially liability, something which had never been done before in the United States,’’ Monahan wrote. “During this intense battle, we met with several Members of Congress and policy experts to discuss the PIF’s attempt to take over the game of golf in the United States, and suggested ways that Congress could support us in these efforts.
“While we are grateful for the written declarations of support we received from certain members, we were largely left on our own to fend off the attacks, ostensibly due to the United States’ complex geopolitical alliance with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This left the very real prospect of another decade of expensive and distracting litigation and the PGA Tour’s long-term existence under threat.”
Last week, members of Congress began a move to draft legislation that would look into ending the PGA Tour’s non-profit status.
The PGA Tour has been operating as a member organization 501c(6).
On Monday, the Senate announced its own investigation.
The PGA Tour received a letter from the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations asking for records and communications between the tour and the PIF.
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal recently said the deal “raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution.”
Monahan’s letter to Congress tried to tamp down those concerns while making the case that the PGA Tour had no choice but to make an agreement with the Saudis.
In the letter, Monahan explained that the PIF will be a minority investor in the new commercial entity, with the PGA Tour retaining majority equity. He pointed out the PIF is investing in the tour similarly to its investments in other “U.S.-based companies.”
“Rather than a foreign funded entity taking over an American sport, the end result is that the PIF has agreed to work within the existing golf ecosystem as a minority investor with the PGA Tour in full control,” Monahan wrote. “The PGA Tour is, and will remain, an American institution dedicated to its players and generating charity in the communities where we play.”