PGA TOUR SELLS OUT PROVING THEY HAVE NO CORE VALUES AND HAVE LOST ALL CREDITABILITY.
For the second year in a row the RBC Canadian Open was once again ‘overshadowed’ by PGA Tour-LIV drama. Seemingly out of nowhere, the PGA Tour and its supposed rival, the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League announced a merger.
Adam Hadwin, of Abbotsford, B.C., was the first player to speak publicly about the news that stunned the golf world ahead of the tournament at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
“I can’t help but feel sad for the Canadian Open, once again, that this news drops Tuesday of what is our national open, a very important event for golf in Canada and hopefully viewed from the PGA Tour’s standpoint as an important event to them,” Hadwin said.
So, what does this deal mean for the game of golf? We still do not know, but it is safe to say the entire landscape of professional golf might have to make several adjustments and concessions. Golf Canada the event organizer of the RBC Canadian Open along with their sponsor RBC, must sit and wait to see the details of the agreement. In addition, and another possible problem for Golf Canada, the sponsorship contract with RBC ends this December and if they do not like the terms of the Saudi agreement or the effect on their brand by having a relationship with the Saudis, they may look for an alternate sport or venue to spend their sponsorship and marketing dollars.
Currently we are still in the early stages of understanding the consequences of the tour’s partnership with the Saudi government. There are arguments on both sides – many voice a variety of troubling reasons and state the Saudi regime should be kept at a distance and avoid them at all cost. Do not join forces with an organization that is funded by blood money and has the full blessing of a thug prince. Phil Mickelson even said “They’re scary mother&%&#ers to get involved with.”
Others say the Saudis have already infiltrated the Western economy enough and it would be foolish to even try stop them. Recently the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said that it will take control of four domestic clubs: Al Nassr, where Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo plays, as well as Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal, the 2021 Asian Champions League winner. There are also several international companies backed by Saudi money.
| Company | Value when disclosed | Sector |
| Citigroup | $ 522 million | Banking |
| $ 522 million | Technology | |
| Marriott International | $ 514 million | Travel, tourism, and entertainment |
| Walt Disney | $ 496 million | Travel, tourism, and entertainment |
Are any of these companies being boycotted or protests at the head offices? Do you see people staying away from Disney World?
The PGA Tour has spent years building and developing their brand. Your brand is arguably one of your organization’s most important assets. It gives your organization an identity, makes your business memorable, encourages businesses and consumers to support you and brings your employee’s pride. As your brand develops the organization matures and core values are established and ingrained within the business. On their web site the PGA Tour says they are good corporate citizens and support and improve local communities, charities, and organizations. That is nice to say but, does the PGA Tour have any core values because it appears they are interested in one thing and one thing only, generating revenue.
So, what happens when you compromise the core values of your business and brands?
Your values guide you through life, helping to decide what is right and wrong, and what we will and will not do.
But what happens when someone or something challenges your values? What can you do about it?
When your values are challenged, start by embracing the experience, then work to understand other perspectives, reflect on your values, and consider changing them. If your values remain fully valid for you, then you can speak up, refuse to comply, find a creative workaround, or leave the situation.
One of the less attractive options you have when your values are being challenged is to compromise them.
And that is what the PGA Tour has done!
When your values start to erode, you struggle to look at yourself in the mirror because you are ashamed of your actions.
On separate occasions in fending off the Saudi challenge, Monahan referenced the regime’s nefarious human rights history, and the country’s ties to organizing and executing the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In doing so, Monahan also suggested the tour held itself to a higher moral standard.
Monahan should not have tread in such vulnerable terrain or made statements this past year if there was even a remote chance, he would reverse course. Shame on Jay Monahan and others at the Tour as this is the ultimate hypocrisy.
Monahan blindsided the players he works for by announcing an agreement brokered in secret to merge commercial interests in a newly formed business entity with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the sole financier of the rival LIV Golf. In the players meeting during the RBC Canadian Open Monahan described the meeting as “heated” and “intense.” Players called for his resignation, change in leadership but most importantly management has lost the trust of the players.
Whether the deal is consummated remains to be seen. Numerous questions need to be answered and the agreement will have to clear many hurdles. You can be assured the government and justice departments will get involved and dissect the tour’s operations, non-profit status and if they operate as a monopoly. I am sure one of the reasons they made a deal was none of them wanted to get into court and expose the back-room deals and operations.
If the deal goes through will the Saudi money make any difference? Doubtful. Golf is such a strong embedded culture that it’s going to take more than a few wealthy sheiks to change things.” Tom Watson famously observed: “Golf is a game of ego, but it is also a game of integrity. “The most important thing is you do what is right when no one is looking.”
The PR team needs to stop saying they help grow the game. That is BS! They are in it for the money and developing ways to enhance their bottom line. The four majors, they are the organizations that actually support the game.
The PGA Tour cannot be trusted now to do the right thing. Monahan has lost the trust and must be terminated along with some board members. Maybe someone should approach Keith Pelly who is the commissioner for the DP Tour. Pelly is also Canadian!
There is certainly still a lot to iron out regarding the merger. Get ready to dissect press releases and media information as the TOUR fires up its crisis communications PR team who will have their hands full trying to respond to harsh judgements and the significant harm to their brand.
I do have one final question or observation. If the Saudis wanted to invest billions into the sport of golf and with all their resources one would think they would do their due diligence first. When Greg Norman was trying to sell them on the idea of LIV – a new golf tour, why would the Saudis not speak with the PGA Tour, DP Tour, R&A, USGA and others and get an overview of the sport and determine the best way to invest. In addition to being a good golfer maybe Greg Norman is now the greatest salesperson. All of this could have been avoided if the Saudis did their due diligence.
