米欧ゴルフツアーとＬＩＶが「歴史的　事業統合、２年の争いに終止符

【マイアミＡＦＰ＝時事】男子ゴルフ米国ツアー（ＰＧＡツアー）とＤＰワールドツアー（欧州ツアー）は６日、サウジアラビアが後援するＬＩＶゴルフリーグとの事業統合を発表し、２年にわたる対立に終止符が打たれることになった。（写真は男子ゴルフ米国ツアーのコミッショナーを務めるジェイ・モナハン氏）
　突然発表された衝撃的な合意書の中で、米ツアーはＬＩＶおよび欧州ツアーとゴルフ関連の活動を統合し、「共同で保有する新たな営利団体」を形成する合意に署名したことを明かした。
　ＬＩＶゴルフリーグは、１大会２５００万ドル（約３５億円）の賞金や賞金保証を使って米ツアーの有名選手を引き抜き、２０２１年１０月に立ち上げられた。すると米ツアーは管轄大会への移籍組の出場を禁止し、ワールドツアーも多額の罰金を科して対抗。争いは複数の訴訟に発展し、ＬＩＶと高額契約を結んだ米国のフィル・ミケルソンやブルックス・ケプカと、残留したロリー・マキロイ（北アイルランド）やタイガー・ウッズ（米国）らメジャー王者同士の対立も生んだ。
　米ツアーのジェイ・モナハンコミッショナーは、「２年間の混乱と騒動を経て、私たち全員が知り、愛するスポーツにとっての歴史的な日を迎えた」と宣言し、「今回の歴史的な提携は、ＰＧＡツアーの歴史と財産、プロ大会のモデルが持つ計り知れない強みを評価しつつ、ＤＰワールドツアー、さらにはチーム戦のコンセプトを含めたＬＩＶとの統合を実現し、選手と商業・慈善パートナー、ファンに利益をもたらす組織を作り出す」と続けた。
　新団体の名称と具体的な構造はまだ発表されていないが、米ツアーによれば、３者は「２０２３年シーズン後にＰＧＡツアー、ＤＰワールドツアーの会員資格の再申請を希望する選手にとって、公平かつ客観的なプロセスを構築する」という。
　新団体の理事としては、サウジアラビアの政府系基金パブリック・インベストメント・ファンドのヤセル・ルマイヤン総裁が会長、モナハン氏が最高執行責任者を務める。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/06/07-16:22）

PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan said he understood being branded a hypocrite after brokering the stunning merger with LIV Golf.
Monahan was accused of hypocrisy after announcing that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour had agreed a tie-up with the Saudi-backed LIV circuit in a bid to end golf's civil war.
The PGA Tour chief -- who has railed against LIV since its inception while simultaneously lobbying star tour players to resist huge paydays to join the circuit -- attended a tense meeting with players at the Canadian Open in Toronto on Tuesday.
US media reported that furious players -- who had been kept in the dark about the merger until the news broke on Tuesday -- challenged Monahan over the merger at the meeting.
In a media conference call later Tuesday, Monahan acknowledged that criticism directed at him was inevitable.
I recognize everything that I've said in the past and my prior positions, said Monahan, who will be the chief executive of the new tour.
I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite.
The PGA Tour chief insisted his staunch defence of the tour over the past year was in good faith, but that circumstances do change.
Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that's trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players, Monahan said.
I accept those criticisms, but circumstances do change. I think that in looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that's what got us to this point.
Monahan meanwhile defended the cloak-and-dagger nature of the merger talks with LIV that led to Tuesday's announcement.
Given the complexity of what we were dealing with, it's not uncommon that the circle of information is very tight, Monahan said.
In our case, we kept that information very tight...we were not in a position to share or explain, as we normally would, and that was really a result of the commitment we had made to maintaining confidentiality through the end.
ESPN reported on Tuesday that two of the PGA Tour's biggest stars -- Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy -- were also not informed of the deal in advance.
Woods is reported to have turned down an offer in the region of $800 million to join LIV last year, while McIlroy is reported to have rejected a $400 million offer to switch circuits.
McIlroy, arguably the most vocal opponent of LIV amongst the PGA Tour's players, is playing at the Canadian Open this week.