The PGA Tour is engaged in multiple conversations per week with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia as both sides work to finalize an agreement that could reshape the landscape of men’s professional golf.
Details have been sparse ever since the Tour announced June 6 that it had entered into a framework agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf following more than a year of contentiousness and divisiveness. As part of that deal, both sides agreed to immediately drop the litigation, and a new for-profit company, PGA Tour Enterprises, was formed, with the PIF signed on as a minority investor.
The deadline to reach an agreement is Dec. 31, though it can be extended if needed.
“We’re confident that we’re going to reach a positive outcome for the PGA Tour,” commissioner Jay Monahan said.
When asked, specifically, if there’s any reason to believe that a deal can’t be reached by the end of the year, Monahan said: “At this point, no, I don’t have any reason to think that we won’t be successful.”
Chief operating officer Ron Price and Tyler Dennis, the executive vice president and president of the Tour, are leading the discussions with representatives from the PIF. Dennis said they’ve been “actively engaged weekly, multiple times a week” as they work through the details of a possible agreement, which also includes the DP World Tour. Dennis said the process has been “very positive and collaborative.”
“Given the fact that there’s frequency of talks,” Monahan said, “we’re probably right where I would expect that we would be. But there’s an intensity and there’s an urgency and there’s a lot of good work that’s being done.”
Among the outstanding questions is what the future holds for the players who left the Tour to join LIV Golf. As part of the framework agreement, the two sides are expected to work together, following the conclusion of their respective seasons, to form a pathway back for those players who want to return.
“These are the kind of topics and discussions that we’re having right now with PIF,” Monahan said. “So to be able to project what’s going to happen, I don’t have an answer today, and when we complete our discussions, we’ll have an answer for that question. That’s a non-answer, but that’s my position.”
Citing the confidential nature of the discussions, Monahan also wouldn’t publicly speculate on the short- and long-term future of LIV. As part of the deal, Monahan, who will serve as CEO of the new entity – PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be the chairman of the board of directors – is expected to take a comprehensive look at LIV’s business model and determine its future.
“I’m not going to talk publicly about them until we’ve completed those discussions and I can answer that question specifically and directly,” Monahan said.
If the Tour and the PIF cannot reach a definitive agreement, Monahan was asked whether the Tour is vetting any other alternative investment options.
“Right now, my focus is on the negotiations with PIF – that’s where all my energy and attention is,” Monahan said. “Given the amount of attention that our framework agreement has received, and the fact that we’ve created a new company, PGA Tour Enterprise … obviously has generated a lot of interest. But in terms of alternatives, right now, the sole conversation that we’re having is the conversation we’re having with PIF.”