Norman Out? Yasir Getting Into Augusta? Tiger In LIV Events? A Full Breakdown Of The Largely Theatrical PGA Tour Hearing In Congress

It's entirely too soon for this meeting to take place. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the ranking member of the senate subcomittee on investigations, said as much on today's Fore Play podcast. As Phil Mickelson said last week, the only real agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (the Saudi sovereign wealth behemoth behind LIV Golf) is to reach a concrete agreement. So, so much is up in the air. 

The hearing itself, then, was the chance for a few senators to grandstand—we had Josh Hawley demanding Ron Price, a PGA Tour executive since 1994, condemn concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims in China and Richard Blumenthal asking if the PGA Tour is going to hold events in Russia—and grab some viral clips. We learned essentially nothing from what was largely a theatrical production. BUT, and it's a sizable but, there was plenty of meat in the 270-odd page document released by the subcommittee. In there are tons of communications that show you exactly how this deal came to be, and what proposals have been laid out under a "Best of Both Worlds" plan proposed by a British dealmaking firm called PCP Capital Partners. The document can be read in its entirety here. Let's break it all down. First, here's the meatiest part of the proposals. 

—This actually was mentioned in the hearing, but there's apparently a "side agreement" to remove Greg Norman as the chief executive of LIV Golf once this deal becomes finalized. This makes a ton of sense; there's long been a feeling on the PGA Tour side, a feeling articulated by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, that Norman's divisiveness is a significant roadblock to the coming-together process. He will of course publicly portray confidence, but his total lack of involvement in the dealmaking process and his omission from the Framework Agreement speaks volumes. 

—There's a proposal that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy would own equity in LIV franchises and play in at least 10 LIV events per year. This, of course, is predicated on LIV continuing, which is no sure thing—the agreement, at least if you listen to the PGA Tour side, leaves that decision with the board of the new entity, which the PGA Tour says they will control. Either way, the likelihood of this is the same as me playing in the NBA. Tiger can hardly walk. Rory said, even after the deal, that he "hates LIV." If I'm in that meeting room, I'd be rather concerned that whoever put it together thought it a good idea to suggest Tiger play 10+ non-major events in the year 2023. This shows they're living in fantasy land. 

—Side not here, but that's another reason why this meeting was so pointless: it presented one side of the story. The big question here, the one with wide-ranging implications for the rest of American sports, is whether the Saudis will have final say on the new entity or whether the PGA Tour will. Tour brass have made an effort to insist they will, while the Saudis have reportedly been saying other things privately. We won't really know until there are all parties in a room giving answers. And not on CNBC. Which brings us to our next ponit. 

—Michael Klein, who runs essentially a consulting firm for CEOs, pushed for this agreement to be rolled out quickly. He wanted to get ahead of the narrative and make it look like a coming together rather than a reluctant putting down arms. He insisted they could have a "softball segment" on CNBC. 

That's one of the takeaways from this whole thing: with a deal this size, you sort of expect the communication to be really buttoned-up, official, through assistants, schedule calls and all that. Nope. Turns out at the end of the day it's just a bunch of dudes talking to each other. In the document there's WhatsApp conversations between Jimmy Dunne, the legendary financier who orchestrated the deal, and al-Rumayyan. Dunne appears to have a man who runs a $600-700 billion fund and a close associate of Mohamed bin Salman saved in his phone as Yesir Golf. They're making jokes to each other. Al-Rumayyan says he's free for a call and Dunne replies a few hours later apologizing, saying he was on the golf course. 

Augusta National members and Sovereign Wealth fund managers—they're just like us. 

—Speaking of Augusta…as part of the "Best of Both Worlds" proposal, which again is not binding and merely a proposal, Yasir would get memberships to both Augusta National and the R&A. As bizarre as it is, this is sort of the crux of this entire sage: Yasir loves golf, Yasir has a ton of money, Yasir wants a green jacket. The PGA Tour does not control Augusta National and Augusta National does not need to concede certain points like the Tour does. They're in a position of strength, like always, and they don't exactly hand out memberships to every rich guy who wants one. Hard to see this happening any time soon but you gotta appreciate the effort. Can't score if you don't shoot. 

—There's a non-disparagement clause in the deal that prevents PGA Tour brass from speaking badly about the PIF. There are similar clauses in all the LIV contracts, which is why you always hear guys dance around those human rights questions. Price chimed in that such clauses are common in deals, but this is obviously not a very common deal. That clause is how you get Jay Monahan, in less than a year, going from essentially calling the PIF terrorists to calling them "world class investors." 

—Dunne made a passionate case against lumping the PIF in with 9/11. Dunne has the deepest ties to 9/11—40 percent of his colleagues at the investment bank he worked at died in the attacks. He missed them, ironically, because he was playing in a golf tournament. He then set up college funds to pay for all of their children. He's as close to it as it gets. And he maintained that these people had nothing to do with it and if they did, he wouldn't be sitting there. Dunne also said he's not going to profit a cent off this deal and is doing it for the betterment of the sport. 

—This one actually could happen, and has potential: a team competition, featuring all the stars, with 16 captains, that would feature LIV, PGA Tour and, crucially, LPGA Tour players. The draft would be live on TV. This idea has serious potential. Notably, the qualifiers would be in Saudi Arabia and the final would be in Dubai. That part's absolutely going to happen; there are going to be events of consequence held in Saudi Arabia. Like it or not, it's the way of the world. Look at what's happening in soccer and about to happen in tennis. They have the money, they wanna spend it, and there are gonna be some things they want in return. 

—Proposal for at least two of the PGA Tour's designated events to be sponsored by the PIF/Aramco, just like the Aramco Series on the LPGA Tour. The PIF Open or The XXX Classic presented by Aramco. Feels inevitable. 

All of these are proposals. Nothing's set in stone and nothing is definitive. Except, of course, that we are living through the craziest period in our sport's history.