Billy Horschel has won seven events on the PGA Tour, captured the 2014 FedEx Cup, and tied for fourth at the 2013 U.S. Open, his best finish in a major to date.
He has been around the block.
Consequently, he has a ton of knowledge about the PGA Tour.
Yet, on the heels of the tour’s deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), Horschel believes PGA Tour leadership should be left to their own devices throughout the negotiations.
“I’m in the minority probably on this — I don’t think they always have to be transparent with us because I just don’t see the benefit always of being transparent, telling us everything,” Horschel said to Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel.
“Do they come to us and discuss a sponsor of a PGA Tour event that they’re trying to get? If everyone’s happy with that sponsor, is the agreement that they made with that sponsor, is everyone happy with?”
“We’re not business people,” Horschel added. “We don’t have the knowledge; we don’t have the experience in that world to make those decisions.”
Indeed, Jimmy Dunne, the mastermind behind the PGA Tour’s deal with the PIF, not only serves on the PGA Tour policy board but also is the Vice Chairman of Piper Sandler, an investment bank. Dunne is also the president of Seminole Golf Club and a member of Augusta National.
Ed Herlihy, one of the country’s best mergers and acquisitions attorneys, also played a large role in finalizing the tour’s framework agreement with PIF.
Of course, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan—perhaps the scapegoat of this entire deal—worked in the financial sector early in his career in Boston. He later worked in sales for the Fenway Sports Group.
Yet, numerous PGA Tour players, namely Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, have called upon the tour to be more transparent.
Horschel understands that.
“But I think we do have a member-input organization, and I do think there needs to be some transparency,” Horschel admitted. “I’ve tried to, early in my career, say there were certain things that the PGA Tour could be more transparent with, to give the guys a better understanding of how the business is run on the PGA Tour.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
