The sport of golf witnessed a huge announcement last week as the PGA Tour has reached an agreement to merge with longtime rivals LIV Golf. This billion-dollar deal reportedly took place during the wedding of Lawrence Stroll’s daughter, Chloe Stroll.
According to express.co.uk, the representatives of both parties met in Italy during Chloe’s royal wedding with Australian snowboarder Scotty James. It is believed that both parties were invited by Lawrence to carry out this controversial deal.
The PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF announce landmark agreement to unify men’s professional golf.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 6, 2023
One of the guests that was invited to the wedding was Saudi Aramco’s chairperson Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Al-Rumayyan is believed to have met the PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan in Italy, and it is this talk that is believed to have been instrumental in this deal getting settled.
What role did Lawrence Stroll play in sealing PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s deal?
According to the same report issued by express.co.uk, Jimmy Dunne of the PGA Tour initiated the talks with Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Dunne is believed to have sent Rumayyan a WhatsApp text for a meeting down the line.
It is believed that Rumayyan then met Jay Monahan in Venice after being invited by Lawrence Stroll to attend Chloe’s wedding. According to the New York Times, this meeting played an important role in prompting both parties to initiate further talks.
Rory McIlroy shares his thoughts on Tuesday’s announcement.
Watch the full presser: https://t.co/LoHqYAuBmi pic.twitter.com/qNI6StFdrz
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 7, 2023
After having this meeting, it is believed that further talks took place over the phone, and in San Francisco and New York before a full agreement was reached. It is believed that this merger deal caused an uproar when it was announced to the public on June 6.
As per this merger, Saudi Arabia’s PIF will invest billions of dollars to have a sizeable minority stake in the new entity. Since Saudi Arabia is believed to have a long history of human rights abuse, this deal was condemned by many.
Jay Monahan faces massive backlash after this deal was announced
Among the many that have previously criticized the PIF and LIV Golf, Jay Monahan has long been one of them. According to the 9/11 Families United group, it was Monahan that “co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA (Tour’s) unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sports washing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation“.
With Monahan now having agreed to partner with the same group, the 9/11 Families United group are far from happy. This group believes that this deal has made the PGA and Monahan “just more paid Saudi shills.” On facing immense criticism, Monahan explained what changed.
“I would describe the meeting as intense, certainly heated”
PGA tour commissioner, Jay Monahan explains why the PGA tour, DP World and the LIV Tour are merging after years of competing against each other. 🔊 pic.twitter.com/oVMBDbkpF5
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 7, 2023
As quoted by the New York Times, he said, “I looked at where we were then, and it was the right point in time to have a conversation. I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite. Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment“.
Monahan ended his remarks by stating that he accepts everyone’s criticisms but that “circumstances do change“. As per this report, the deal was reached in the early hours of May 30 after immense bargaining from both sides.
