PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan says meeting with PIF ‘constructive’،
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and player directors from the tour's political committee met Monday with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, in the Bahamas, a meeting that could be an important step in the reunification of men's professional golf.
On Monday, X accounts tracked planes belonging to the PGA Tour, PIF and player director Tiger Woods (as well as the 15-time major champion's yacht) to Nassau, Bahamas. A plane belonging to Fenway Sports Group's principal owner, John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins and Liverpool FC, also arrived in the Bahamas on Monday.
Monahan sent a memo to PGA Tour members Monday evening, confirming the meeting but offering few details. Golfers Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth, Peter Malnati, Patrick Cantlay and Adam Scott are the other managing players.
“The conversation was constructive and represents an important part of our due diligence process in selecting potential investors for PGA Tour Enterprises,” Monahan wrote in the letter. “This mirrors the approach we used earlier this year when we were evaluating an investment offer from Strategic Sports Group. During the session, Yasir had the opportunity to introduce himself to our player managers and speak of its vision, its priorities and its motivations for investing in the professional golf sector.
“As we continue these discussions with the PIF, we will keep you informed as much as possible, but understand that we must maintain our position of not conducting negotiations in public. To this end, we will not provide any further comment to the media. Right now.”
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF formed a surprising alliance on June 6 after Monahan and other PGA Tour executives secretly negotiated a master agreement with the PIF.
The framework agreement expired on December 31, but was extended as the parties continued to negotiate a potential deal.
On Jan. 31, Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of billionaire team owners, athletes and others, announced it would invest up to $3 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises, a new for-profit entity that will oversee PGA Tour commercial properties. SSG made an initial investment of $1.5 billion.
If a deal is reached with the PIF, an additional $3 billion could potentially be invested in PGA Tour Enterprises, according to sources. The PIF, with assets estimated at more than $775 billion, has financed the rival LIV Golf League for the past three years.
Among the issues that were expected to be discussed at the meeting were LIV golfers' path to the PGA Tour and the potential sanctions they could face, as well as the position of team golf in the future of the sport.
Rory McIlroy and other golfers, including player managers, have urged the PGA Tour in recent weeks to reach a deal with the PIF.
“I think this should have happened months ago, so I'm happy it's happening,” McIlroy said of the meeting. “I hope this advances conversations and brings us closer to a solution.”
