Explaining the key issues as PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia discussions drag on
By Adam Woodard
Talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – the financial backers for the Tour’s rival, LIV Golf – continued last week in New York, but it appears golf fans are still nowhere near seeing the world’s best players reunite.
If you’re unfamiliar with what’s going on in the professional golf world, let’s get you up to speed. At last month’s Tour Championship, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said talks with the PIF were "stronger" than they'd been in the past since the Tour, DP World Tour and PIF signed a shocking framework agreement on June 6, 2023, to create a for-profit entity aside from the PGA Tour. A deadline was set for Dec. 31, 2023, to reach a definitive deal, but the timeline was extended and talks have slowly meandered on throughout 2024.
In late January of this year, the Tour announced that it had created that new entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, with a $1.5 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S.-based sports franchise owners. The PIF wants to invest more than $1 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, but key issues remain and neither side is willing to budge just yet.
According to Bloomberg, an agreement over the financial details “inched closer” last week in New York, but a main point of contention remains: how will players who took hundreds of millions in guaranteed money to join LIV reintegrate with the Tour? More from Bloomberg:
"Some PGA Tour players want Rahm — and others — to hand back money they’ve made from LIV, the people said. Other options include paying fines to participate in events, giving to charity, or agreeing to forfeit any future career winnings on the PGA Tour, the people said. However, Rahm and other LIV Golf players have refused to agree any terms that would penalize them for taking a risk and leaving the PGA Tour, the people said."
- Bloomberg report
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Another key issue that’s been present from the start of discussions revolves around the golf schedule. LIV Golf chairman and governor of the PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, as well as LIV commissioner Greg Norman, want a global golf tour. Eight of LIV’s 14 events this season were outside of the United States, and LIV’s 2025 schedule begins with four straight international events. The PGA Tour and its players, for obvious reasons, want to play a majority U.S.-based schedule.
Bloomberg also reported that talks can still fall apart between the two sides. So long story short, we’re more or less right where we’ve been for the past three years. As I wrote last week when news of the discussions broke, the only achievement of the framework agreement was the end of litigation between the two sides. The divide in the men's game has widened and more questions have sprouted than answers.
As these discussions continue to drag on, it’s the fans who will keep paying the price.
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