Now, even though he’s largely been in hiding, only denied one small part of a recent Golf Digest story via a DP World Tour statement, was the proud instigator of golf getting in bed with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and was not mentioned in Jay Monahan’s prepared opening remarks last week, it still appears DP World Tour chief Keith Pelley is blaming media for speculation about a possible Saudi deal.

From Andrew Wright’s report on an in-house video message to his players and partners includes this:

"There's been a lot of speculation, a lot of rumours swirling," Pelley said. "There’s been very little fact and lots of fiction. Factually, I can tell you we're partners with the PGA Tour in our strategic alliance that has been very beneficial since we signed that back in November 2020. 

"There is a tremendous amount of fiction and you have to be careful with what is transpiring right now across all media platforms and I encourage everyone to again deal with the fact. 

"The one fact is that we will always concentrate on doing the best for our membership, our sponsors, and our stakeholders, and for our players and our members that is prize fund and playing opportunities."

Perhaps a little more transparency and a lot less hiding would help squelch these rumors? Just a thought!