In a lengthy open letter to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour Board of Directors and his fellow players, eight-time major champion Tom Watson questioned the controversial decision to partner with DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund—the funder of the LIV Golf league.
In the letter, Watson said he understood the “cries of hypocrisy” and added that “communication was mismanaged and the process by which the Tour agreed on the proposed partnership with the PIF was carried out without due process.” regular”.
Watson also criticized the secrecy of the negotiations leading to the controversial deal.
“What does the acceptance of this partnership mean for the Tour? » Watson asked. “What do we get?” What are we giving up? Why was this deal done in such secrecy and why wasn’t even one of the players who sits on the Tour’s Political Council included?
Watson was referring to Rory McIlroy, who is one of the PGA Tour player directors on the board of directors. Before the deal, McIlroy was widely critical of LIV Golf, and he was hardly alone in this regard. The PGA Tour has discouraged members from joining the rival league, despite the huge sums of money offered to players. Today, the Tour is accused of abandoning its morals in search of the same money.
Watson also questioned the most serious topic when it comes to LIV Golf: Saudi Arabia’s role in terrorism and its poor human rights record. The group 9/11 Families United tore up the PGA Tour for his deal with the Saudi-funded golf league, and Watson couldn’t write his letter without addressing the elephant in the room.
“I am still waiting for the Saudis to acknowledge their role in the September 11 attacks, which resulted in the loss of 3,000 innocent lives among my fellow Americans,” Watson wrote. “I support 9/11 Families United and their efforts to release documents exonerating the U.S. government. »
