Jay Monahan Sold American Golf’s Soul to Saudi Arabia. What’s Next? – By Evan Bleier (Inside Hook) / June 7, 2023
The Saudi Public Investment Fund is the “exclusive investor” in the LIV-PGA merger
After turning down an offer of $400 million per season to join Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in playing for one of Saudi Arabia’s state-funded soccer teams, Lionel Messi will be coming to America to take the pitch for Inter Miami of MLS.
Messi, who has an estimated net worth of $600 million, was able to decline the offer from Saudi Arabia and resist the allure of lining his already full pockets with cash from the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). If only PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan could have resisted Saudi Arabia and done the same thing.
In a shocker that sent seismic shockwaves throughout the sports world and led to “heated” conversations between Monahan and some of the world’s best golfers, the PGA Tour announced it was merging with Saudi-backed LIV Golf and Europe’s DP World Tour to form a for-profit global entity. As the press release about the merger made clear, the PIF will be controlling the purse strings, and therefore the direction, of the new venture.
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