The latest news from the ongoing PGA Tour/Saudi Arabia PIF negotiations is … there is no news. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan told players on Tour that a Monday meeting between Tour Policy Board players and Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan was “constructive” but offered few other details.
“The conversation throughout was constructive and represents an important part of our due diligence process in selecting potential investors for PGA Tour Enterprises,” Monahan wrote in a memo to Tour members. “This mirrors the approach we employed earlier this year as we evaluated an investment offer from the Strategic Sports Group. During the session, Yasir had a chance to introduce himself to our player directors and talk through his vision, priorities and motivations for investing in professional golf.”
The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s PIF, the financial backer of LIV Golf, have been engaged in negotiations since a surprise agreement to cease hostilities last June. In the intervening months, the PGA Tour has brought on Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of professional sports owners, as an outside entity investing $1.5 billion in the Tour, while LIV Golf has signed several notable names away from the Tour, including Jon Rahm.
The Tour Policy Board’s player representatives are Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods.
Earlier last week, Spieth noted that the player representatives “are being encouraged to potentially meet with [PIF] at some point.” Cantlay noted Sunday that a meeting would be happening shortly. “I’ve gotta hear out what they have to say, and I will always do my best to represent the entire membership whenever I am in a meeting in that capacity,” he said. “I think more information is always better.”
The meeting was initially reported to be held in Ponte Vedra, Florida, home of the Players Championship, but it was apparently held in the Bahamas at the Albany Resort where Woods holds his annual Hero World Challenge.
Monahan said in a media conference prior to the Players that talks were continuing, but he has offered few specifics, citing a need to preserve secrecy in negotiations.
“As we continue these discussions with the PIF, we will keep you updated as much as possible, but please understand that we need to maintain our position of not conducting negotiations in public,” Monahan said in his memo to players. “To that end, we will provide no further comments to the media at this time.”
There is, as yet, no pathway for LIV Golf players to reunite with the PGA Tour outside of the majors. The next time a significant number of players from both tours will be on the same course will be at next month’s Masters.
