Don’t bury the proposed new Saudi-backed golf league just yet.
Just hours after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan reiterated to players the promise of a ban from the tour should they sign with the Greg Norman-run group, a letter from Norman to potential players and their agents written last week was made available to media members including an itemized list of potential legal challenges LIV Golf Investments will use to challenge Monahan’s declaration.
It suggested that despite the negative impact of Phil Mickelson’s critical comments and the public commitment by multiple top players, including targets Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, the new league isn’t surrendering.
The letter from Greg Norman read, in part:
“In response to the PGA Tour’s threats against players of lifetime bans, which the PGA Tour issued during this week’s Genesis Invitational, please find attached our detailed response, which expands on our past discussions. Simply put, your players enjoy the freedom under law to choose how they make a living. In our view and in the eyes of the law, the PGA Tour’s threats are utterly impermissible under competition and other laws.
“As you know, at LIV Golf Investments we have made every effort (1) to present a collaborative outlook and communicate our intent with existing professional sanctioning bodies, and (2) to share how our vision and operation will enhance the game at every level and add momentum to golf’s worldwide standing as a leading supporter of charitable causes. It is the PGA Tour’s choice—and not ours—to refuse to entertain constructive dialogue for the betterment of the game and stakeholders across all sectors, particularly players.
“We will continue our efforts to respectfully co-exist. However, we will not stay silent in the face of unjust and punitive threats that seek to prevent your clients from pursuing their rightful career opportunities and LIV Golf’s right to compete. Competition is what makes us better and more successful, and your clients are entitled to the benefits of healthy and fair competition for their services. We will not permit the Tour—as the long-standing monopolist over professional golf—to stifle free and fair competition to the detriment of professional golfers and the game itself. For the good of your clients and the great game of golf, we hope you will not as well. Your players should not be encumbered by these outrageous threats.”
On Tuesday afternoon at the Honda Classic, Monahan spoke to players and addressed the subject of the new league. According to comments from players in the meeting, Monahan made it clear the PGA Tour was serious about banning players.
“I told the players we’re moving and anyone on the fence needs to make that decision,” Monahan told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
The commissioner added that he did not think the threat of the new league was over, despite Rory McIlroy suggesting on Sunday that it was “dead in the water.”
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