After the framework agreement was signed between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in order to create a global golf entity.
Washington Post reported that former AT&T executive Randall Stephenson had left his post due to “serious concern” about the proposed deal. The Tour’s 10-member Board still has to approve the agreement. Stephenson was appointed to the Tour board in 2012. He said that the proposed framework agreement is “not one I can objectively assess or support in good conscience, especially in light of the U.S. Intelligence report regarding Jamal Khashoggi, which came out in 2018”.
Stephenson, in a letter he wrote to his fellow board members and obtained by The Post, said: “I joined this Board 12 years ago in order to serve the greatest players in the World and to spread the virtues instilled in sportsmanship through the game golf.” I hope that as the board moves forward it will rethink its governance and evaluate other sources of capital than the current framework agreement.
Stephenson said he would resign after a week, but he stayed when PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced a leave of absence to address a health concern. Golfweek reported on Friday the news that Monahan was returning to his position, and the Tour confirmed this July 17.
Golfweek contacted the PGA Tour to get a comment.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold an hearing on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of Sen. Richard Blumenthal. This is due to the concerns that have been raised about “the Saudi Government’s role in this effort and risks posed by foreign government entities assuming control over an American institution.”
“Our goal is uncovering the truth about the PGA Tour deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and what this means for the future and national interest of the cherished American institution,” Blumenthal wrote. He invited PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to testify. Also included were LIV Golf League CEO Greg Norman and PIF Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan. The Americans deserve to know the structure and governance for this new entity. The major players in the deal should be able to answer this question in public. They owe Congress and the American people answers.
Jimmy Dunne will be in attendance, as well as Ron Price, chief operating officer of the Tour and a member on the Tour’s policy board who was involved in the construction of the deal.
The PIF and Tours announced a framework for a global golf entity on the 6th of June, after the May 30 deal had been signed. The U.S. Department of Justice has also begun an investigation into the proposed deal.
The PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and other parties have dropped all pending litigation as part of the framework created for the new entity. However, the New York Times is requesting that all documents in LIV’s claim, and the Tour counterclaim, be unlocked due to the First Amendment rights and common law right to public records.
window.pickup={ready:function(){return null}},window.puDataLayer=window.puDataLayer||[],function(){window.puDataLayer.push(...arguments)}("43cbcdf7-8faf-45b8-9cb2-7e1837b71eaf", "519",!0); // be sure to replace PUBLISHER_TOKEN and PUBLISHER_ID window.addEventListener('load', function () { pickup.ready(() => pickup.render()); });
By: Adam Woodard
Title: Report: Longtime PGA Tour board member resigns due to proposed Saudi Arabia partnership
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/07/09/pga-tour-board-member-resigns-saudi-arabia-pif-deal/
Published Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2023 21:29:30 +0000
Leave a Reply