PGA Tour commissioner says Tour ‘couldn’t afford to keep battling Saudi Arabia,’ Wall Street Journal reports

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan told employees in a meeting on Thursday that it couldn’t “conduct a lengthy spending war against Saudi Arabia,” according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, Monahan during a meeting at PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida told employees that the Tour’s financial model was “unsustainable” while fighting Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a government-controlled fund that has $650 billion in assets under management, according to its most recent filing.

“We cannot compete with a foreign government with unlimited money,” Monahan told employees, according to the Wall Street Journal. “This was the time … We waited to be in the strongest possible position to get this deal in place.”

The meeting came days after the PGA Tour declared a partnership with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, as well as the DP World Tour, unifying the trio under a new, yet-to-be-named, commercial entity.

According to the Journal, Monahan told employees that the Tour had already spent $50 million in legal fees and had dipped into its reserves for $100 million to help pay increased purses in elevated events and other bonuses to players.

“Additionally, this transaction will make professional golf more competitive with other professional sports and sports leagues,” the Tour continued.