PGA Tour commissioner remains coy on PIF deal following 'constructive' talks in the Bahamas
Jay Monahan and several players met with PIF to heal the divisions in the game
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan revealed he had a “constructive” conversation with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Public Investment Fund (PIF), about an investment in PGA Tour Enterprises but remained coy on the details of the potential deal.
Yesterday’s talks in the Bahamas, which included players on PGA Tour’s board of directors, represent “an important part of our due diligence process in selecting potential investors for PGA Tour Enterprises”, Monahan said in a memo to players following the meeting.
While no confirmation has been given on who attended the talks, 15-time Major champion Tiger Woods and three-time Major winner Jordan Spieth were both reported to be present at the Albany Resort, where the duo met Al-Rumayyan for the first time.
Monahan added that Al-Rumayyan discussed “his vision, priorities and motivations for investing in professional golf”, without providing any specific details on what that might entail.
Al-Rumayyan’s PIF is the funder of the breakaway LIV Golf circuit, which has caused plenty of disruption in the game since launching in 2022.
Since their first event at Centurion Club in June of that year, a bucket load of PGA Tour stars have defected to the league, including Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith.
All of those players have been suspended from the PGA Tour, leaving golf’s No.1 circuit with a weaker product.
Despite Monahan previously ruling out a deal with the Saudi-backed league, the PGA Tour, PIF and DP World Tour announced a framework agreement last June, promising to unify the game of golf, on a global basis.
The announcement was followed by a mutually agreed end to all pending litigation between the participating parties, while the three organisations ensured they would work “cooperatively” and in “good faith” to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership with the PGA TOUR or the DP World Tour.
LIV golfers still remain suspended from the PGA Tour after an agreement wasn’t reached by the original deadline of December 31 2023.
Shortly after that original deadline, the PGA Tour finalised a landmark agreement with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) for an investment worth up to up to $3 billion in in a new, for-profit entity called PGA Tour Enterprises.
That led many to question whether the PGA Tour needed PIF to invest in their product and heal the divisions in the game.
Yesterday’s meeting between Al-Rumayyan and key decision makers on the PGA Tour surely puts that doubt to bed, but golf fans all over the world will be hoping for an end to the fractured landscape in the game sooner rather than later.
Comment
Golf fans, including myself, want to see the best of the best go head-to-head on a regular basis and that is no longer happening.
Take last week’s Players Championship as an example. The prestigious tournament, so often referred to as the game’s fifth Major Championship, still has the tagline, ‘the strongest field in golf meets the purest test in golf’.
Except that is no longer true.
How can a tournament without the current Maters champion, Rahm, and the current PGA Championship winner, Koepka, seriously describe itself as the strongest field in golf?
Either change your tagline or welcome back LIV Golf players for these events.
Then you’ve got the issue of LIV golfers in danger of missing out on playing in the four Major Championships due to LIV events not receiving any Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
The Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship predominantly use the OWGR as part of their criteria for qualification.
Yes, LIV golfers were more than aware what they were singing up to when they joined the circuit, but do we really want the likes of Talor Gooch, Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann missing out on future Major Championships just because they play on a different Tour?
The answer from any golf fan will be a hard no.
Let’s hope these latest talks between PIF and the PGA Tour lead to an agreement reached in the near future. I think I speak on behalf of many golf fans when I say we are sick and tired of the division in the game, we simply want to watch the best product and that is the game’s elite players competing against each other on a regular basis.