21 PGA Tour Players Hire Lawyers, Demand Policy Board Share Details of LIV Golf Negotiations
The PGA Tour is in the middle of another potential legal issue, this time with its own members.
On December 10, 21 members of the PGA Tour sent a letter through its lawyer to the PGA Tour Policy Board, demanding full disclosure of details of any proposals by prospective capital partners. They asked that the information be shared promptly with all Tour players.
The letter demanded not only the sharing of information, but also a meeting with the independent directors on the Policy Board. It came as a response to a memo sent from the Policy Board to membership where the Board disclosed it had reviewed proposals with different groups and decided to negotiate with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S. based professional investors that include Fenway Sports Group, Arthur Blank, Gerry Cardinale, Cohen Private Ventures and Marc Attanasio.
The memo went on to say that the Board also anticipates advancing its negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in the weeks to come.
The following was a statement from Susman Godfrey L.L.P, the law firm representing the 21,
“The PGA Players we represent want transparency from the PGA Tour Policy Board before it makes any decisions impacting the permanent structure, economics, or competitive rules of the PGA Tour. Only with additional information can the PGA Players ensure that the right decisions are made for the right reasons and that no players are left behind. Our clients know their sentiments and goals are shared widely by most PGA Players.”
The players all appear to agree on a need for transparency, but they are not linked in any other way. If the information is disclosed, it’s unclear if they will continue to stay together as a group of 21.
While the group included in the SSG consortium are very experienced in business and sports, the 21 players that are party to the letter to the Board are less so in their given profession.
Only five of the 21 are ranked in the top 200 in the world — Chez Reavie is the highest at 111.
The SSG consortium is a combination of savvy sports owners, headlined by Fenway Sports Group, which owns the MLB’s Boston Red Sox’s, Liverpool Football Club, NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, NASCAR’s RFK Racing and numerous real estate and media ventures.
Blank co-founded Home Depot and owns the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United FC.
Cardinale is founding partner of RedBird Capital, with over $8.6 billion of assets under management that include AC Milan, the XFL and Skydance Media.
Steve Cohen, the principal of Cohen Private Ventures, is a hedge fund manager an owner of the MLB’s New York Mets.
Attanasio is the principal owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
The PGA Tour did not respond to SI's request for comment regarding the letter.
The 21 players who signed the letter, in alphabetical order, with world ranking:
Ryan Brehm (547)
Wesley Bryan (704)
MJ Daffue (249)
Dylan Frittelli (409)
Tommy Gainey (729)
Brent Grant (440)
Lanto Griffin (307)
James Hahn (316)
Scott Harrington (664)
Andrew Landrv (740)
Nate Lashley (186)
Brandon Matthews (764)
William McGirt (553)
Grayson Murray (134)
Scott Piercy (305)
Chez Reavie (111)
Chris Stroud (638)
Callum Tarren (153)
D.J. Trahan (1285)
Richy Werenski (501)
Danny Willett (182)