(New York) The PGA could no longer afford the luxury of a financial fight with Saudi Arabia, explained its boss, Jay Monahan, to justify the merger with the LIV, according to remarks reported on Saturday by the American daily Wall Street Journal.
Monahan has been heavily criticized since Tuesday and the surprise announcement of a merger between the PGA and European tours DP World on the one hand and, on the other, the dissidents of the LIV, a circuit created and financed by the wealthy kingdom.
“You cannot fight with a foreign government with unlimited resources […]. We waited until we were in the best possible position to make this deal,” Jay Monahan said during a meeting with PGA workers Thursday in Florida, according to the WSJ.
According to the newspaper, the PGA boss added that $150 million — in legal costs or to increase prize money — had already been spent on the dispute with the LIV since it emerged in 2021.
On Tuesday, commenting on this agreement concluded with the powerful Saudi Arabian Sovereign Fund (PIF), Jay Monahan hailed a “historic day”. He must “bring about a new era in world golf, for the better,” he said.
These comments did not save him from harsh criticism in the golf community, some denouncing his “hypocrisy”.
“Hypocrisy and greed” were also the words used by a group representing the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks, when 15 of the 19 hijackers were of Saudi nationality.
During Thursday’s meeting, Monahan was again questioned about the morality of this agreement with a country denounced for its multiple human rights violations.
“I understand all the questions on the question of human rights, assured the leader, according to the Wall Street Journal. I had them myself. »
The announcement of this merger also came during a week marked by a new boost to Saudi Arabia’s sporting ambitions, with the announcement of the signing of French striker Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad. , Ballon d’Or 2022, for an amount estimated at several hundred million euros over three years.
