LIV Golf’s Phil Mickelson takes aim at the PGA Tour after learning it plans to offer its members an equity stake in its new for-profit entity.
After a leaked memo from the circuit revealed the possibility of player equity in the PGA Tour’s new for-profit organization, PGA Tour Enterprises, Phil Mickelson took aim at the circuit.
The PGA Tour held its final Policy Board meeting of the year on Tuesday, November 14, at its headquarters, taking into consideration the terms of its ongoing framework agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Tiger Woods was invited to the “important board meeting” after being named a player director earlier in the season.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan led the meeting and he confirmed in the memo that was sent out to members that negotiations towards a definitive agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the DP World Tour remain a “priority”.
According to the memo sent out to PGA Tour players, which you can read in full below, Monahan penned:
“Progress has been deliberate given the complex nature of the potential agreement, and we will keep you apprised of the progress, with continued input and direction from your Player Directors and player advisor Colin Neville.
“Additionally, as you know, the Framework Agreement with PIF and the DP World Tour generated unsolicited – although not surprising – interest from numerous outside potential investors.
“The opportunity to potentially participate in the transformative growth of the PGA Tour for the first time brought forth dozens of inbound prospects, which were all initially vetted by the Tour’s investment bank, Allen & Company.
“In the Policy Board meeting, we reviewed these remaining bids with the Independent Directors and Player Directors – with input from Allen & Co. and The Raine Group – and agreed to continue the negotiation process in order to select the final minority investor(s) in a timely manner.”
Monahan’s memo then also addressed potential for player equity in its new for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises.
The memo read:
“Tour management has designed a program that would align the interests of our members with the commercial business of the Tour via direct equity ownership in PGA Tour Enterprises.
At the point we secure outside investment, this would be a unique offering in professional sports, as no other league grants its players/members direct equity ownership in the league’s business.
“We recognize – as do all of the prospective minority investors who are in dialogue with us – that the PGA Tour will be stronger with our players more closely aligned with the commercial success of the business.”
It was that particular part of the memo that drew the ire of 45-time PGA Tour winner Mickelson, who famously left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in a deal reportedly worth $200m in the summer of 2022.
In response to the PGA Tour’s latest memo, Mickelson tweeted:
“What an aamzing change of philosophy in 2 years. “If it’s not 100% owned and controlled by the PGA Tour it will be viewed as hostile.” Ed Herlihy and Jay Monahan October 30, 2021. Thank you LIV, PIF, His Excellency and all the players willing to stand up to Jay’s threats and disparagement to force positive change.”
Prior to his move to LIV Golf, six-time major champion Mickelson hit out at the PGA Tour’s “obnoxious greed” in an interview with John Huggan.
Mickelson took specific aim at PGA Tour players not having access to their own media.
In February 2022, Mickelson told Huggan:
“It’s not public knowledge, all that goes on. But the players don’t have access to their own media. If the tour wanted to end any threat [from Saudi or anywhere else], they could just hand back the media rights to the players. But they would rather throw $25 million here and $40 million there than give back the roughly $20 billion in digital assets they control. Or give up access to the $50-plus million they make every year on their own media channel.
That is among the most important of the many problems. The fact that they are sitting on hundreds of millions of digital moments is insufficient in my opinion. Additionally, they have access to my shots, which I do not. Additionally, they charge businesses to use the shots I’ve hit. Additionally, the tour required me to give them $1 million each time I performed “The Match”—there have been five of them. for my own rights in the media. I find that kind of greed to be extremely irritating.”