Professional Gold Association Commissioner Jay Monahan has admitted that Saudi cash made the feud with the rebel LIV competition unwinnable.
The the Wall Street Journal reports the admission came while Monahan was addressing PGA Tour employees in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, about the shock decision to merge with Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf League.
Monahan said the PGA was pouring tens of millions of dollars into its legal fight with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund while also increasing its own purses to help stop other players from defecting to the rival circuit.
He said the fight was not sustainable against a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund that reportedly has more than $600 billion ($A890 billion) in assets.
The meeting came two days after the PGA Tour’s shocking announcement that it had formed an alliance with the DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund.
‘We cannot compete’
“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money,” Monahan told 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.”
Monahan told them the tour had spent $US50 million in legal fees and taken $US100 million from its reserve funds to help pay out larger purses and other bonuses to top players.
In a statement to ESPN on Saturday, a PGA Tour spokesperson characterised the Wall Street Journal report as an “oversimplification.”
“To characterise that this agreement was made due to litigation costs and other use of reserves is an oversimplification,” read the statement.
“With the end of the fractured landscape in the world of men’s professional golf, the PGA Tour has never been a more valuable property.
“The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has recognised that value and the opportunity for (return on investment) with their investment in the tour. Additionally, this transaction will make professional golf more competitive with other professional sports and sports leagues.”
The merger agreement announced on Tuesday ends all legal disputes between the PGA Tour and the PIF. A source told ESPN that the PGA Tour’s insurance will cover some of its legal fees.
-AAP
