GARDENS OF PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – Commissioner Jay Monahan claims he has the authority to deny PGA Tour membership to players who join the Saudi-backed rival league.
Monahan cannot ban players if they join the golf league, according to Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf Investments, the firm behind the possible league.
This indicates that, if the Super Golf League is launched, the conflict between the PGA Tour and the league will take place in the courtroom rather than on the golf course. But that’s a long way off.
For the time being, Monahan believes the PGA Tour will continue to move forward without the league and the related hoopla.
“I informed the guys we’re moving on,” Monahan told the Associated Press on Wednesday, adding that any player who joins the Saudi league will lose his Tour membership. “All of this debate about the league and money has distracted our players, partners, and, most importantly, our fans.” We’re more concerned about legacy than with leverage.”
Phil Mickelson, who has long been associated with the Saudi Arabia golf league, apologized in a statement ten minutes before the player meeting at PGA National Resort for making “reckless” comments about the league and the PGA Tour to Alan Shipnuck, the author of the soon-to-be-released “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar.”
Mickelson informed Shipnuck that he and three other players hired lawyers to draft plans for the league, and that he wanted to use the league’s high-stakes guarantee as leverage against the PGA Tour.
Mickelson told Shipnuck, “(The PGA Tour) has been able to get away with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm techniques because we, the players, had no redress.” “And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage,” says the narrator.
Despite the Saudi Arabian regime’s history of human rights violations, Mickelson stated that he would strive to do so. Mickelson, who said he would be taking a break from golf, also thanked LIV Golf Investments, which shares “my drive to improve the game.”
Mickelson’s longtime sponsors KPMG and Amstel Light have cut ties with the World Golf Hall of Famer after publishing his statement.
No player has openly stated their intention to join the league, while a number of the game’s top players, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka, have stated their opposition.
However, Koepka stated on Tuesday that he does not believe the Saudis will leave.
“I believe it will continue to go on.” “I believe there will still be discussion,” the four-time major champion predicted. “Everyone seems to be talking about money.” They’ve had their fill of it. I don’t think they’ll back down; they’ll just double up and figure it out.
“They’re going to get their men.” Someone will sell their soul and go.”
