DETROIT – Peter Malnati was in a Residence Inn at the Toronto Airport on Tuesday morning, June 6, when his phone rang at 7:36 a.m., informing him of the PGA Tour’s blockbuster agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
Malnati, 36, whose lone win came at the 2016 Sanderson Farms Championship, is in his first year on the PGA Tour policy board. On Tuesday, he and the nine other board members met for approximately eight hours in person. (Lunch was served at noon, there were two five-minute breaks and the meeting wrapped around 8 p.m.)
“Entering the Framework Agreement put an end to costly litigation,” the Policy Board said in a statement. “Management, with input from our Player Directors, has now begun a new phase of negotiations to determine if the Tour can reach a definitive agreement that is in the best interests of our players, fans, sponsors, partners, and the game overall.”
On Wednesday, after a lengthy practice session, Malnati spoke to Golfweek about the meeting and shed some new light on the task ahead, including how the Tour must earn back player trust, Commissioner Jay Monahan’s health, the formation of player committees to dole out discipline to LIV defectors and reward loyalty for those who stayed.
The wide-ranging conversation started with a simple question: do you want this deal to be consummated?
“I never wanted this deal to happen,” Malnati said. “But now that we’re apparently in a position where it was needed for some reason, I want to see the PGA Tour succeed and there are smart people that are telling me that this deal is going to set up the PGA Tour for long-term success. It’s still a hard pill to swallow because like I never turned down an offer (from LIV) and never had an offer. They never had any interest in me and that’s perfectly understandable. I’m the 250th-ranked player in the world. But even hypothetically had LIV made me a significant offer, it was never on the table for me to accept that offer because I didn’t want to be associated with the Saudis and the PIF. I never would have accepted an offer there. And people always said, ‘Well, everyone has a number.’ I didn’t have a number. So the fact that unbeknownst to any of us that choice was potentially made for us that we’re going to partner with PIF, that was really hard to swallow, for sure.
“So your question was, do I want this deal to happen?
“I think ultimately now I’m in a place where I’m going to say, ‘Yes.’ I think I understand it more. I think I want the deal to happen. Because I think it’s long-term what’s best for the PGA Tour. I don’t think it’s as much of a merger, I don’t think we’re going to be controlled by LIV. In fact, that’s one of the principal elements that the Board is going to ensure if we go forward, that there will be protections in the agreement that PIF can never be anything more than a minority investor in what we do. With those safeguards in place, I think, yes, I want to see a good deal done for the PGA Tour and its members.”
Here are 10 more questions that Malnati answered: