Monahan Reiterates Ban Pledge, Shark Bites Back While Citing Former FTC Counsel Who Really, Really Wants The Saudi League To Succeed

You could admire PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s decision to lay low the last few weeks as the disruptive LIV Golf Investments purported league crumbled under the weight of Phil Mickelson’s comments and direct ties to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But in leaving Rory McIlroy’s of the world to front the opposition, Monahan left those who took a moral or history-based stand to be the spokespersons for the PGA Tour.

Q-rating enhancing, all of this money talk is not.

Maybe good for Meltwaters? I don’t know.

Either way, Monahan finally dropped the hammer as the Saudi ship was seen sinking off the coast of Jupiter, reiterating in a phone interview to AP’s Doug Ferguson that he has “zero complacency” when it comes to the threat of a Saudi league.

“I told the players we’re moving on and anyone on the fence needs to make a decision,” Monahan said Wednesday in a telephone interview.

He also emphasized anew that players who sign up for a Saudi golf league will lose their PGA Tour membership and should not expect to get it back.

Why the ban was brought back up as the whole thing crumbles, is surprising and suggests there are still concerns the LIV Golf effort has legs. Because it seems like Monahan could have just belittled what appears to be left of a league down to some Kokrak’s, Poulter’s, Stenson’s, Westwood’s and Mickelson’s.

Meanwhile, the Shark one is fighting back in a last ditch letter after this “ban” opening and it’s multi-layered. And a two-pager:

Here is the “recent article” Norman happened to stumble on, posted February 21st, two days before the Monahan interview cited above.

The author, Alden Abbott, was General Counsel of the Federal Trade Commission during the final two years of the Trump Administration. He’s a member of the Federalist Society and former staff member of the Heritage Foundation, and was also a longtime professor at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University.

The Abbott article cited by Norman was promoted in a press release from the website Inside Sources, where the “About” page says:

Academic research has found political pundits are worse at predicting the future than if they were randomly guessing. The media elite’s echo chamber thinks half-truths, bad predictions, and “conventional wisdom” qualify as news. Good thing we don’t.

A few weeks back on February 3rd, Mr. Abbott wrote another piece for RealClearMarkets.com promoting the Norman effort to disrupt professional golf while making some curious leaps.

He writes:

The threat over the putt is precisely what the PGA Tour is applying to players considering playing in any new golf leagues, especially the rumored new league Norman is linked with. The Tour is trying to maintain its monopoly by telling players it will destroy their livelihoods, ban them from tournaments, and restrict their media rights. That’s not competition on the merits.

Ban? Yes, as Monahan just reiterated. But I’ve followed this story closely and am not aware of any player suggesting the PGA Tour has told players “it will destroy their livelihoods” or “restrict their media rights.” If you’re banned, then you have moved on to a new Tour paying you lavish advance sums, theoretically. And presumably that tour or league is no longer under the PGA Tour’s control, restoring a player’s media rights.

Playing for a new tour would also impact the anti-competition narrative since the PGA Tour does not control major championships, the Asian Tour or the DP World Tour. But I’m not a lawyer.

Abbott also wrote in the February 3rd piece:

If Norman’s rumored new league – or any other competitive structure — is able to launch, fans and players will benefit. The American Football League’s entry in the 1960s—just a few years after antitrust litigation forced the NFL to stop the player threats that had forestalled earlier competitors—spurred a generation of innovation that led to the modernization of football for the benefit of players and fans alike. Golf desperately needs the same revival, and competition can provide it. 

While the points about competition and innovation are legitimate, it’s also fascinating to see the “Golf desperately needs” line in Abbott’s piece. Similar sentiments were echoed in a recent apology statement we all read. And like Phil Mickelson, Abbott’s claims mostly revolve around player compensation and rights. What that has to do with fans is beyond me.

A strong case is building that all of this money talk from both sides without much discussion around improving the sport, is actually hurting the sport.

I have reached out to LIV Golf Investments to ascertain whether Mr. Abbott has any kind of consulting or financial relationship with the operation and did not hear back immediately. But if I do, I’ll post their response.