Tom Watson Pens Open Letter to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan: ‘We Need Clarity’

Tom Watson has penned an open letter to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, highlighting the need for more clarity on the partnership and merger with the PIF, which was announced several weeks ago. Since the announcement, there have been no real details, and Watson has reached out with more wishes for the details and more concerns about the merger.

Since the announcement, players and fans alike have been kept in the dark regarding the details of the proposed deal. While the Tour and the PIF appear to be convinced there will be nothing but positives from this, others are skeptical. Watson seems to be one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Watson wrote in the letter:

“There are many unanswered questions to date, which I hope will be addressed with the players by Tour management at this week’s Travelers tour event. What does acceptance of this partnership mean to the Tour? What do we get? What do we give up? Why was this deal done in such secrecy and why wasn’t even one of the players who sits on the Tour’s Policy Board included? A matter this profound deserves thorough vetting by a representative group of stakeholders which include those, who in the end, define the public image and emotional connection with the PGA Tour.”

One of the biggest bits of criticism that those who left the Tour and joined LIV Golf heard was the taking of “blood money” that Saudi Arabia and the PIF offered to these players. It was the same money that helped finance and carry out the 9/11 attacks, and groups such as the 9/11 Families United have pushed back against every move LIV has made. They were also vocally displeased with the Tour’s merger with the PIF, which Watson mentions.

“I still await Saudi acknowledgment of their role in the attacks of 9/11, which resulted in the loss of the innocent lives of 3000 of my fellow American citizens. I support 9/11 Families United and their efforts to release supporting exculpatory U.S. Government documents (See 9/11FamiliesUnited.org/KeyDocuments). That day, forever among the darkest in our nation’s history, is sadly not alone among the human rights violations we have seen employed by Saudi Arabia. I ask the Tour, how is a non-negotiable point for us one day one we negotiate around the next?”

Watson’s biggest bit of advice for the Tour moving forward is transparency. But his letter also rings true to the importance of morality.

“My loyalty to golf and this country live in the same place and have held equal and significant weight with me over my lifetime. Please educate me and others in a way that allows loyalty to both and in a way that makes it easy to look 9/11 families in the eye and ourselves in the mirror.”

You can read Watson’s full letter here.

Cover Image Via Kansas City Star