Billy Horschel has won seven PGA Tour events, won the 2014 FedEx Cup, and tied for fourth at the 2013 U.S. Open for his highest finish in a major championship to date.
He has considerable experience. As a result, he is extremely knowledgeable about the PGA Tour.
However, following the tour’s agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), Horschel believes that PGA Tour leadership should be left to their own devices during the negotiations.
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Horschel told Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel, “I’m probably in the minority on this — I don’t believe they must always be transparent with us because I don’t see the benefit of always being transparent and telling us everything.”
“Do they approach us to negotiate a potential sponsor for a PGA Tour tournament? If everyone is satisfied with the sponsor, is everyone satisfied with the agreement they made with the sponsor?”
“We’re not businesspeople,” Horschel added. We lack the necessary knowledge and experience in that world to make such decisions.
NORTH BERWICK, United Kingdom – Billy Horschel lines up a putt on the 10th green during Day Two of the Genesis Scottish Open on July 14, 2023, at The Renaissance Club.
Jimmy Dunne, the mastermind behind the PGA Tour’s agreement with the PIF, is not only a member of the PGA Tour policy board but also the Vice Chairman of the investment bank Piper Sandler. Dunne is the superintendent of Seminole Golf Club and an Augusta National member.
Ed Herlihy, one of the finest mergers and acquisitions attorneys in the country, was also instrumental in finalizing the framework agreement between the tour and PIF.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, perhaps the perpetrator in this entire transaction, began his career in Boston’s financial sector. He later worked as a sales representative for the Fenway Sports Group.
However, many PGA Tour players, including Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, have urged the tour to be more open.
Horschel understands that.
“However, I believe we have a member-input organization, and I believe there must be transparency,” Horschel conceded. Early in my career, I argued that the PGA Tour could be more open about certain aspects of its operations in order to provide players with a greater understanding of how the tour’s business is conducted.
