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Webb Simpson has forgiven PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan for the shock deal with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. For the unversed, Monahan released a memo on June 6 announcing the circuit’s decision to merge with the LIV Golf backers, which didn’t sit well with several players. However, Simpson has now come out to state that he let go of the incident.
The PGA Tour board member was speaking in an interview with Golfweek during the Sony Open in Hawaii when he talked about players’ stance on the PGA Tour-PIF deal. Replying to a query on what his ‘biggest frustration’ at the moment is, the 38-year-old golfer said that his tour mates were clouded by opinions on the June 6 framework announcement.
He said that his fellow players stopped asking questions and are “kind of just giving their opinion” on the matter.
Webb Simpson said, as quoted by Golfweek:
“My biggest frustration, and has been for about six months, is most of these guys, they don’t know all the details of June 6. They don’t know all the details of what we’re trying to do, so they hear what other guys say and they kind of get in these echo chambers and they’re saying these one liners that we all know really well. My frustration is that they’re not asking more questions."
They’re kind of just giving their opinion. They’re not seeking to understand or learn. I’m hearing a lot of you broke my trust once, I’ll never trust you again. I don’t live like that. Somebody breaks my trust and they want to make it right and apologize, I want to forgive them and move on.”
Furthermore, Simpson claimed that there was “some good” from the June 6 announcement as well. He said that the PGA Tour hasn’t lost any player, other than Jon Rahm, since the memo. He noted that the circuit was “saving tens of millions of dollars a year” as the litigation between the two sides stopped.
Simpson also claimed that the tour body “handled” the situation while admitting that the communication was “not good.”
PGA Tour-PIF framework agreement update
The PGA Tour-PIF deal is far from fruition. The framework agreement had both parties agreeing to a set deadline of December 31, 2023. However, the deal is far from done and the deadline has been postponed. The Telegraph, reported on December 28, that the PGA is extending the deadline for negotiations on the agreement with PIF.
According to reports, this new deal could be finalized in April, around the Masters 2024. It is pertinent to note that several reports also claim that talks regarding the agreement between the two sides are yet to commence. Notably, several players have also raised concerns about the lack of clarity on the matter.
Despite the negotiations with the PGA Tour, the PIF has not stopped working on building LIV Golf. The Greg Norman-led series shocked many when it signed Jon Rahm. The Masters champion jumped ships for a reported sum of $566 million, which is the biggest deal any golfer has ever received.
