PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is returning to work simply over a month after he stepped away for a “medical situation,” saying a two-year battle that resulted in a shock settlement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf had been “grueling for all of us.” Monahan knowledgeable the PGA Tour’s coverage board, gamers and workers Friday night that he’ll return to his function on July 17, the week of the British Open.
He stated June 13 he was turning over day-to-day duties to 2 of his executives, only one week after asserting the business settlement with Saudi Arabia’s nationwide wealth fund.
Seven weeks of personal conferences preceded the settlement, and the next week was spent attempting to fulfill with gamers and clarify to them why the tour went from battling the Saudi league to turning into its companion.
“I am deeply sorry that I haven’t been able to be with you during this time,” Monahan wrote. “The last two years have been grueling for us all. I experienced that toll personally in the days following the announcement of our framework agreement and encountered adverse impacts on my health.
“With the support of my family and thanks to world class medical care, my health has improved dramatically.” The tour by no means disclosed what the medical state of affairs concerned.
Monahan had negotiated a nine-year media rights deal proper earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for 2 months and led to strict measures to return. Then got here the formation of LIV Golf, which had billions of {dollars} from the Public Investment Fund to purchase PGA Tour stars and begin a rival league.
The PGA Tour was spending tens of millions of {dollars} on authorized charges for the antitrust lawsuits involving LIV Golf, and on a radically modified construction that doubled prize cash to the $20 million vary at elevated tournaments.
Then got here the stunning announcement on June 6 by which Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF, revealed they’d be working collectively.
The five-page framework settlement sparked concern of a merger. Monahan had stated particulars had been nonetheless to be labored out whilst Congress and the Justice Department acquired concerned.
“Over the last several years, as we’ve confronted challenges that called the PGA Tour’s future into question, we have devoted every ounce of energy to securing a stable path forward for our organization,” Monahan stated in his memo. “With the framework agreement with DP World Tour and PIF, we are on a path to accomplish this goal.
“Should we be able to reach a definitive agreement, we can rest assured that the PGA Tour will continue to lead and shape the game for the future. Beyond that, we will have the ability to invest in our players and communities like never before.” The day the deal was introduced, Monahan confronted gamers in a gathering he described as “intense,” with some gamers suggesting it was time for him to get replaced.
And then every week later, Monahan introduced he was stepping away and two of his prime executives — Ron Price, the chief working officer, and Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour president — would deal with the day-to-day duties.
Over the final month, feelings have calmed as gamers attempt to grasp how the business settlement will work out — supplied the federal government approves — and the place it would lead. That features a path again for gamers who left the PGA Tour and European tour for LIV Golf.
Monahan despatched a separate memo to gamers saying he was excited to return and thanking them for his or her assist throughout his absence.
“I will plan to join you in person at a tournament as soon as possible and address any and all questions you may have,” he stated.
Price and board member Jimmy Dunne have agreed to seem earlier than a Senate panel reviewing the settlement on Tuesday in Washington. Dunne and board chairman Ed Herlihy had been the one board members working with Monahan on the Saudi settlement.