Nobodyknew, including Rory and Tiger
The initial reaction after the news dropped was one of pure shock.
No one had heard a peep about this being a possibility in the near future.
That includes players of all levels on the PGA Tour.
Collin Morikawa had no idea.
Neither did Joel Dahmen.
And, it turns out, neither did Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods.
Because the negotiations were between a very, very small group of people.
This was downrightSuccession-esque: just a couple rich dudes in a room reshaping the room.
He joined the PGA Tour policy board in November 2022, long after the beefing and the litigation began.
His calculation was a cold one: the Saudis have billions of dollars to spend.
They dipped deep into their reserves, a move Monahan described as “betting on our product.”
Dunne and Herlihy first engaged Yasir al-Rumayyan, chairman of the PIF, without Monahan present.
That laid the foundation for the deal.
“I wanted to rely heavily on those two fine gentlemen to have that first conversation.
There is no more litigation flying around.
No more poaching of players.
Just more money under the PGA Tour umbrella.
And Monahan emphasized that the PGA Tour would continue to be in control of the PGA Tour.
Monahan, I’m told, maintained that the deal is in the best interest of membership.
It wasn’t a popular position in the room, nor in the media.
“I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite.
I accept those criticisms.
But circumstances do change.
Top-level professional golfers are surely much better off today than they were a few years ago.
“Look, nothing’s really going to change for me,” says Joel Dahmen.
“I’m still gonna show up and play golf in the best tournaments I can qualify for.
Hopefully it’s enough for me and my family to ride off into the sunset.”
Team golf is not going anywhere
Al-Rumayyan is said to personally believe in the concept of team golf.
As for the restthe shotgun starts and 48-man fields?
“We’re in a framework agreement,” Monahan said.
“We haven’t concluded the definitive agreement.
I have not had the opportunity that I’m going to have to conduct a comprehensive empirical evaluation.
“I don’t want to make any statements or make any predictions,” Monahan said.
Did the DOJ investigation into the PGA Tour for anti-competitive practices play a role in this?
“So weird,” Connecticut senator Chris Murphy said.
I guess maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”
How did Monahan explain his complete 180 from a year ago?
We’ll let his words speak for themselves.
We just realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart.”
