PGA Tour deal with LIV Golf drops major player poaching provision amid pressure from Senate

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Among the many landmark agreements in the PGA Tour framework deal with the PIF, a major shift of poaching players has been changed.

There were a number landmark provisions created in the framework deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). But one of the biggest ones has been dropped after Tuesday’s Senate hearings.

According to the New York Times, both tours would now have the ability to poach players from each other. That was one aspect that was strictly prohibited previously.

The changes come amid growing pressure from Congress. On Tuesday, PGA Tour COO Ron Price and policy board member Jimmy Dunne testified before the Senate. The United States government has been getting involved with the blockbuster deal, citing potential antitrust laws that may be broken.

Antitrust laws were put into place in order to eliminate monopolies and regulate the conduct of an organization.

The removal of this provision likely satisfies those requirements.

The PGA Tour moved to notify its board Thursday after the Times inquired, looking for a comment.

The initial deal between the PIF and the tour only had a few binding provisions. One of them most noteworthy was a non-solicitation clause.

That stated that neither the PGA Tour nor LIV Golf could “enter into any contract, agreement or understanding with” any “players who are members of the other’s tour or organization.”

Of course, antitrust laws are far from the only concern. The prospect of ‘sportswashing’ by use of the reported $720 billion in the PIF is the biggest worry from the entire golf world.

But Congress will have a harder time nixing this deal on alleged sportswashing; hence the antitrust inquiry by the Dept. of Justice.