PGA Tour meets with players to discuss deal with Saudi PIF

Tour officials stressed to players that, under terms of the arrangement, the PGA Tour will remain in charge of its operations and will continue to have a controlling interest on its existing policy board and on the board of the new for-profit joint venture that will oversee commercial activities of the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the Europe-based DP World Tour.

The players heard from Tyler Dennis, the tour’s senior vice president, and Ron Price, its chief operating officer, and were told the deal will ensure the tour will be financially viable for years to come. Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner who drew the ire of many golfers by keeping them in the dark about the agreement, was not present, according to the person. He has been on leave since June 13 as he recovers from an unspecified medical condition.

From last week: As Congress probes PGA Tour-Saudi deal, golfers ‘know literally nothing’

While it is believed the Saudis are willing to pump billions into the operation, the players were told that, under terms of the agreement, the PGA Tour can refuse any investment and will have sway over how any money is directed.

Two weeks after the PGA Tour agreed to drop litigation and partnered with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns and operates LIV Golf, players are still upset about the lack of information and transparency surrounding the agreement — both before the deal was struck and in the days that followed.

The tour has found itself playing defense the past two weeks with angry players, confused fans and lawmakers on Capitol Hill pushing legislation targeting the tour’s tax-exempt status. The sides dismissed their federal lawsuits against each other last week, but the agreement is still likely to be months away from completion. Even after the terms are sorted, the deal will need approval from the PGA Tour’s 11-member policy board and also probably will need to pass muster with the Justice Department, which started probing the PGA Tour last year over antitrust concerns.

But getting the golfers to back the deal is a priority for tour officials, and they know the task won’t be easy.

Tom Watson, the Hall of Fame golfer, penned a letter to Monahan and the tour’s policy board Monday, criticizing the secrecy of the deal and saying “the communication has been mishandled and the process by which the Tour agreed on…