Saudi adviser proposed giving Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy ownership of LIV Golf teams, documents show
By Wayne Sterling, CNN
(CNN) — Prior to a truce between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf last month, an adviser to the Saudi Public Investment Fund proposed that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy could own LIV Golf teams and play in the Saudi-backed tour, according to a 276-page report released by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday.
In an April 26 meeting, PCP Capital Partners, a Saudi PIF adviser, presented a slideshow to PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne and PGA Tour Policy Board Chairman Edward Herlihy entitled “The Best of Both Worlds.”
The slideshow proposed that McIlroy and Woods would own LIV Golf teams and participate in at least 10 LIV Golf events, documents showed.
The April 26 meeting also proposed that the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, was to obtain membership at Augusta National and become director of the International Golf Federation and there would be a global LIV Golf event in Saudi Arabia, with a final week in Dubai as part of the presentation.
A May 24 email also revealed PGA Tour officials intended to fire LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman after the merger. Norman has been an advocate for the rival Saudi tour and a fierce public critic of the PGA Tour.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s talking points draft for announcing the deal as of June 4, 2023, said that “Greg Norman will be assigned to an advisory role determined by PIF when the PGA Tour becomes the manager of the LIV Tour.”
The earliest communication regarding the possibility of a PGA Tour and PIF agreement occurred in December, according to the subcommittee summary, when British businessman Roger Devlin wrote to Dunne.
In the December 8 email, Delvin wrote Al-Rumayyan acknowledges “the merits of compensating those PGA players who have remained loyal to the Tour and he would undertake to establish a substantial Equalization Fund” and that equal “arrangement would have to be made for LIV players to be admitted to PGA [Tour] tournaments and recover World Ranking points. LIV would also contribute a Golf Development Fund to promote global golf inclusivity.”
Devlin also wrote in the same email he had arranged for McIlroy to meet with Al-Rumayyan in Dubai in November.
Devlin said “it was a cordial and constructive meeting.” The email stated McIlroy made it clear he was speaking for himself and McIlroy “emphasised he was seeking no personal financial gain, he was simply trying to unify the game.”
CNN has reached out to Woods and McIlroy for comment.
The framework agreement between the Saudis and the PGA Tour needs to be approved by the PGA Tour’s 10-member policy board.
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