The framework agreement that put an end to the legal dispute between the tours and the Saudi-funded breakaway LIV circuit was the subject of various discoveries that came to light from documents that were presented at a Senate subcommittee hearing in Washington.
Additionally, it was discovered that Greg Norman appeared destined to lose his job as the LIV tour’s commissioner.
After a three-hour hearing, it was explained that if the purchase closes, Norman’s involvement would be unnecessary.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, was also being considered for membership at the St. Andrews-based Royal & Ancient and Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters.
Senators were informed at the session that the PGA Tour and its strategic alliance partner, Europe’s DP World Tour, which also signed the framework agreement that was made public on June 6, will get “north of $1bn” from the contract with the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The LIV idea has been fiercely opposed by Woods and McIlroy. In the immediate wake of the announcement, McIlroy lamented about being a “sacrificial lamb.”
“I still despise LIV; despise it. When the first information about the arrangement surfaced, McIlroy stated, “I hope it goes away,” at the Canadian Open.
If they had chosen to sign up, the paperwork indicate that he and Woods would have participated in 10 LIV competitions. Woods’ playing career is, to put it mildly, uncertain while he recovers from ankle surgery.
Their probable participation in LIV activities remained only a talking point.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, chairs the committee that is looking into potential antitrust violations and foreign participation in US sports leagues.
Norman’s future with LIV Golf appears to be in doubt.
In evidence, chief operational officer Ron Price stated that if the framework agreement is made permanent, LIV will be run by the PGA Tour, thereby eliminating the necessity for Norman’s post, which also includes CEO responsibilities. The PGA Tour dictated that the 68-year-old should be shelved.
The UK-based PR firm Performance54, which oversees the management of LIV, was reportedly also going to step down.
Other proposals that were taken into account during the discussions leading to the signing of the initial agreement included a World Golf Series team event to be held in Saudi Arabia, moving LIV tournaments to the fall, and Saudi sponsorship of specific PGA Tour events.These suggestions were not included in the framework agreement. According to Jimmy Dunne, a member of the PGA Tour board who assisted in the negotiations, “there’s an agreement to get an agreement.”
The only significant action taken thus far is stopping the legal dispute between the opposing parties, which was estimated to be spending $100 million annually.
Price stated that although the amount of PIF’s future investment was not yet known, it will be “north of $1bn”.According to documents, the idea for a peace pact was first proposed by British billionaire Roger Devlin and Newcastle United director Amanda Staveley.
The framework agreement was signed on May 30, the day after a non-disparagement clause was added to discourage animosity toward the Saudi leadership, which has come under fire for its involvement in the 9/11 attacks against the US and for violating human rights. Authorities in Saudi Arabia have frequently refuted such allegations of complicity in 9/11.
Blumenthal said to Price and Dunne during the hearing, “There is something that stinks about this path you’ve taken.” “Saudi has the money, and the money is the reason you gave up,” he continued. The American people, in my opinion, can see through this.
Officials from the PGA Tour insisted that without the arrangement, LIV could have completely ruined their organization. “Putting the man with the money together with our commissioner made sense,” added Dunne.
Later, the executives disclosed that a “taskforce” had been formed to consider how to reward golfers for sticking with the PGA Tour rather than accepting lucrative offers to join LIV.
The tour will be in charge of things, Price added. The tour will have power over the new subsidiary’s board of directors and serve as the organization in charge of overseeing competitive golf.
“These safeguards were very important to us,” Dunne continued. Without all of those robust protections against PIF’s improper management of the game of golf, we could not have reached even this basic framework agreement and would not have.
While the parties try to reach a consensus on specifics on the future of men’s professional golf, the probe will continue.
The PGA Tour policy board, which recently lost a long-standing member, would need to approve any agreement.
Twelve-year veteran Randall Stephenson resigned from his position because he disapproved of the agreement with PIF.
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