July 10, (THEWILL) – Former AT&T Chief Executive, Randall Stephenson, has resigned from his position on the PGA Tour Policy Board due to “serious concerns” regarding the tour’s controversial agreement with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers.
A copy of Stephenson’s resignation letter was seen to have been dated Saturday and effective immediately. Stephenson, who has been a board member since 2012, cited the framework agreement’s inability to be objectively evaluated or supported in good conscience, especially in light of the US intelligence report on Jamal Khashoggi’s death in 2018.
The PGA Tour Policy Board, consisting of 10 members, needs to approve the deal announced by PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan and Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, for it to be finalised. Stephenson, who intended to resign last month, postponed the decision when Monahan took a leave of absence to address undisclosed medical issues.
In his letter, he wrote: “I joined this board 12 years ago to serve the best players in the world and to expand the virtues of sportsmanship instilled through the game of golf. I hope as this board moves forward, it will comprehensively rethink its governance model and keep its options open to evaluate alternative sources of capital beyond the current framework agreement.”
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, to examine the PGA-LIV deal, where two PGA Tour officials will testify. Jimmy Dunne, a policy board member involved in negotiating the terms of the deal, and Ron Price, the PGA Tour’s chief operating officer handling Monahan’s responsibilities during his absence, will appear before the committee.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
