“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money”: What Jay Monahan told his employees

PGAT Commissioner Jay Monahan had a lot of questions to answer. The PGA Tour and PIF merger has taken the golf world by storm in recent news and many golfers received the news along with the general public. In a players' meeting, Monahan referred to a lot of reasons as to why the merger took place.

Jay Monahan is in the hot seat, and the biggest reason he gave for the merger is the inability to compete with the unlimited supply of money that the Saudi PIF brings to the table.

The PIF offered hundreds of millions of dollars to golfers to join the LIV Series. They also offered large sums of prize money for all golfers, even those who placed last in tournaments.

Speaking via the Washington, Jay Monahan said:

“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money. This was the time. We waited to be in the strongest possible position to get this deal in place.”

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PGA Tour and Saudi PIF merger to bring in fresh and new style of golf - Jay Monahan

Players who previously got banned from the PGA Tour for playing on the LIV Golf series will now be allowed to reapply for membership in 2024. With Saudi Arabia being a key investor in the new golf entity, golf initiatives to improve the game will be undertaken. Along with that, fans have been promised fresh and engaging golf tournaments.

“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights," Jay Monahan said.

The PGA Tour also could not continue its legal battle with the LIV Golf Series. According to the Spun, the PGA Tour reportedly spent $50 million on just legal fees. The Tour also had to dip into its reserves to fund bigger prize purses at tournaments.

Speaking about what the future of golf looks like, Jay Monahan said:

"Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made – to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future."