PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) governor Yasir al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman have been asked to testify at a Senate hearing scheduled for next month.
The news comes following the PGA Tour’s deal with PIF that will see the organisations, along with the DP World Tour, form a new entity to oversee the running of the elite game.
It didn’t take long until questions over the deal were asked, with the US Senate launching an investigation into the shock merger a matter of days after it was announced.
Monahan is set to become the CEO of the as-yet-unnamed entity with al-Rumayyan its chairman, although Norman had not been included in the statement announcing the deal. However, the three have been asked to testify at the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing, scheduled by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) for 11 July.
A letter sent to Monahan asked that he "be prepared to discuss the circumstances and terms of the planned agreement between PGA Tour and the PIF, how any new entities formed through the planned agreement will be structured, the expected impact on PGA Tour and LIV Golf players, and the anticipated role of the PIF in US professional golf."
JUST IN: Jay Monahan, Yasir al-Rumayyan, and Greg Norman have been asked to testify at a July 11 hearing of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Covered topics in the hearing include:• Any terms of the planned agreement• The proposed structure of the new… pic.twitter.com/U1w3L5XMjWJune 21, 2023
In an announcement on Twitter, Blumenthal wrote: “Today I am officially inviting the PGA Tour Commissioner, LIV Golf CEO, & Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor to testify in front of my Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. We need to get to the bottom of the planned agreement between the PGA & Saudi-funded LIV Golf.”
Today I am officially inviting the PGA Tour Commissioner, LIV Golf CEO, & Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor to testify in front of my Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. We need to get to the bottom of the planned agreement between the PGA & Saudi-funded LIV Golf. pic.twitter.com/FlYD4vpmChJune 21, 2023
A statement accompanying the tweet read: “Our goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of this cherished American institution and our national interest.
“Americans deserve to know what the structure and governance of this new entity will be. Major actors in the deal are best positioned to provide this information, and they owe Congress - and the American people -answers in a public setting.”
Monahan, who is currently taking time away from his role to recover from a “medical situation,” Al-Rumayyan and Norman have been requested to respond to the invite by 28 June.
