PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monaghan plans to return on July 17 after going on sick leave last month after he and his organization clashed over a planned partnership with a Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
Monaghan, who has been commissioner since 2017, did not elaborate on his condition in a brief memo to the tour board on Friday, but said recent years have been “harsh for all of us” and that “in the days that followed. I have personally experienced the sacrifice.” The announcement of our Framework Agreement has had a negative impact on my health. “
He said his health had “improved dramatically” since he went on vacation on June 13. But according to Monaghan’s return schedule, Monaghan will miss a Senate hearing in Washington to discuss an interim deal with the wealth fund by Wednesday.
At a time when Mr. Monahan’s future was publicly uncertain, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee of Inquiry had agreed to allow two other witnesses to represent the tour. Its chief operating officer, Ron Price, and director James J. Dunn III, who was involved in the negotiations. That led to an agreement.
Two people familiar with the discussions, who requested anonymity about the private talks, said the inspectors had asked the committee in recent days to consider Monahan’s testimony if the Senate agreed to postpone the hearing. It is said that he proposed to The committee rejected this and chose to go ahead with Tuesday’s plan.
Monaghan isn’t the only golf major to miss Tuesday. Yasir Al Rumayyan, president of the Wealth Fund and one of the driving forces behind the LIV golf circuit that split the PGA Tour, declined to attend the hearing, citing scheduling conflicts. LIV Commissioner Greg Norman also said he would be out of the office on Tuesday.
Senators have said they may question Al Rumayyan and Norman at a later date, which could leave the subcommittee open to questioning Monaghan after Friday night’s announcement. .
Maria McElwain, Democratic Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal’s spokeswoman and subcommittee chair, said, “I’m pleased to hear that Monaghan has recovered. Regarding questions remaining after Tuesday’s hearing. I look forward to following up.”
“We are excited and eager to speak with Mr Price and Mr Dunn on Tuesday,” McElwain added. “They both have important information to share and look forward to a solid and clear discussion.”
Mr. Price and another senior Tour executive, Tyler Dennis, have been on the tour’s routine since June 13, when Mr. Monahan and the board released a brief statement that the commissioner was “recovering from a medical condition.” has supervised In the weeks that followed, Tour officials repeatedly refused to explain Monaghan’s condition or the circumstances that led to his relinquishment of power during one of the most turbulent times in professional golf.
But by the time Monaghan stepped down, he had absorbed days of harsh criticism over the deal with the wealth fund. Monahan, who has previously been accused of tainting funds on his own tours, has also admitted that the tipping will be accused of hypocrisy.
While the final details of the partnership have yet to be negotiated, the outline of the interim agreement states that the PGA Tour, the Wealth Fund and the DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, will transform their respective golf operations into new commercial ventures. I am asking you to bring it to company. Tour executives said the deal would give the Florida-based circuit the lead in the sport, as Monahan would become chief executive of the new company and the Tour would have a majority of seats on its board of directors. claims to be able to maintain
However, Al Rumayyan will become chairman of the new company. In addition, the wealth fund is expected to hold broad investment rights in the new company, promising significant Saudi influence.
Prior to June 6, when the deal that included the tour and wealth fund was announced, Monaghan was one of the most outspoken critics of Saudi Arabia’s foray into professional golf.
“The PGA Tour, an American entity, cannot compete with foreign monarchies spending billions to buy the game of golf,” Monahan said in June 2022. “We welcome healthy and healthy competition. The LIV Saudi Golf League does not. It is an unreasonable threat.
Hours after giving a television interview alongside Al Rumayyan last month, he took a distinctly different tone. One reason is that tour leaders have effectively concluded that the fight against wealth funds is unsustainable.
“I know people will call me a hypocrite,” Ms. Monahan said last month. “Whenever I say something, I say it based on the information I had at the time, based on the people trying to make it to the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms. But things change.”
And the deal will allow Tour to work with wealth funds in a “constructive and productive way,” he argued.
Criticism poured in anyway.
