Thomas Jefferson did not have golf in mind when writing that money is the main commerce of civilized countries. However, his observation that the way a man manages his purse can be easily applied to sport’s leaders. The announcement on Tuesday that the PGA Tour will be merged with the DP World Tour as well as LIV to form a new entity provided little information about the future of golf but left no doubts regarding the moral weaknesses of the leaders.
The statement that announced peace in our times was full of the boilerplate jargon corporate ciphers use to hide their true intentions. Yasir al-Rumayyan declared that he was “proud” to be a partner of the PGA Tour, as the governor and bag man for MBS.
Keith Pelley hailed the day as “a momentous one”. His European outfit, which could be charitably described as not essential to the new alliance but was only brought along to make an appearance, is merely there for show.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has forgotten his reservations about LIV’s source of financing, and praised Al-Rumayyan for his “vision and collaborative approach and forward-thinking attitude.” A cynic may suggest that the bonesaw used by his new partner is also transformational.
The rationale behind the new entity is less unclear. In recent months golf executives have repositioned themselves in order to get their share of settlements. Privately, golf executives have clutched pearls over mounting legal bills and dividing rancor with exhortations to draw a boundary under both. Some people may have held these positions sincerely, but there are not many. Money was the only thing that mattered to those who made the decision.
LIV Golf was viewed largely through four lenses since its inception, some of which overlapped. Most traditional and least important prisms have been whether the competition is fair and consistent with values that golf aspires to. The moral question is the most important one for me and many others: Should the sport be used to repair its reputation by human rights violators who abuse autocratic rule? For many – and frankly, for most people in the sport – the only perspective that counts is the commercial one: Is LIV good for business or not? If someone offers them money from that myopic perspective, how could that not be good business? There’s no need to disrupt commerce with a little dismemberment.
Monahan, Pelley, and all the players, agents, and other hangers-on have always had a problem with where the money went, and not where it came from. Saudi Arabia was eager to pour billions of dollars in golf. No matter the disputes that arose, the Saudis wanted to make sure the money wasn’t rejected, but redirected. Morality was only a convenient position to adopt, just as it was for the families of the September 11 victims or Jamal Khashoggi until space at the trough was made available.
Al-Rumayyan’s exposure in U.S. courtrooms and the investment fund he represents prompted the need to settle quickly. The time is now right for the burrow. Saudi money remains in the game, and both parties position it as a fair resolution. Greg Norman, chief executive of the LIV and its propagandist, would have been featured in the announcement if this was a real victory for the concept. He was not mentioned. Not the first person to disappear after their service for the Saudis ended.
In the coming months, we will see a lot of make-good maneuvering. The Crown Prince’s ransom will be paid to the elite stars that chose to stay in LIV and those that did not must be recycled to various tours. While this is happening, the only thing that will matter is amnesia – a breezy, easygoing willingness to forget insults, accusations and litigation. Sportswashing has become a standard procedure and a common belief among elite golfers.
Slowly but surely, we are moving in that direction. A prominent golf executive told me that a settlement would bring a financial windfall to different entities. He insisted that it was a reasonable resolution. The same man had told me two years before, “Golf must decide if it wants to do business with people that cut off heads. And the answer should be no.”
The PGA Tour, and golf in general, will be hurt by the toxic Saudi-American alliance. This is a deal that has a MAGA component. The people who negotiated the deal must be aware that their choices will be scrutinized with each new regime atrocity and abuse. Monahan, Pelley and their future players may have learned from past mistakes and are confident that they can do it. The snide remarks directed at them over the past few years, whether it was about China, America, the gas station in your car or America’s trading partner.
LIV was created to show how golfers have a limited worldview. They only see what they can afford. It is no longer a group of people who are used as pawns by a murderous government, but an entire sport. This deal will make golf a far worse sport, as it will forever be branded by human rights violators as a platform to wash their dirty laundry.
