The latest news surrounding LIV Golf, with talks of a merger deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund still ongoing, while many players continue to have their say
Rory McIlroy’s LIV Golf confirmation, Bryson Dechambeau’s PGA message, PIF statement.
Over a year ago, news of a potential partnership between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf hit the golfing world in a shock twist.
Talks over this deal are still continuing over 12 months on with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) – who bankroll LIV Golf – noting that things are “continuing to progress”. This prospect has caused waves in the golf community, with many athletes chiming in with their take on the situation.
Three active PGA Tour members sit on the subcommittee – Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott – alongside PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, chairman Joe Gorder, John Henry and Joe Ogilvie
The frameworks of a deal were announced previously, but talks are still ongoing to finalise terms as players and fans begin to get restless. The Mirror has looked at the latest on the situation.
Talks progressing among invested parties
PIF and PGA have jointly confirmed in the last month that talks are “continuing to progress”, despite the initial deadline of December 31, 2023 being long gone.
The joint statement read: “Representatives from the PGA TOUR Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee and the PIF have been meeting multiple times weekly to work through potential deal terms and come to a shared vision on the future of professional golf. On Friday evening, an in-person session in New York City included the entire Transaction Subcommittee and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and his team, where more progress was made.”
Both PGA and PIF have expressed their optimism that a deal will be made on the future of professional golf as it stands – and the money has already begun to change hands.
McIlroy’s backseat role in merger deal
Rory McIlroy is part of a committee alongside other active golfers ( Image: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
While McIlroy is part of the transaction committee alongside Woods and Scott, he announced recently that he would be stepping back to allow people who were better suited to handle the “big boy stuff” during negotiations.
The Mirror reported last month McIlroy said: “There’s going to be people in that room on the PGA Tour side who are going to take the lead. And it’s not going to be Adam, Tiger or I. That’s going to be Jay, Joe Gorder, Joe Ogilvie, John Henry. It’s going to be the business guys. We’re there to maybe give a perspective from a player’s point of view.
This is a negotiation about an investment in the PGA Tour Enterprises, this is big boy stuff. And I’ll certainly be doing more listening than I will be doing talking.”
These conversations have come over a year after McIlroy told fans he “still hated LIV Golf” following the announcement of the potential merger.
At the time, he said: “Whether you like it or not, the PIF are going to keep spending money in golf… at least the PGA Tour now controls how that money is spent.
“One of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy? At the end of the day, money talks and you’d rather have them as a partner.”
Now, it seems like his stance towards LIV and PIF has softened and he is more open to the merger deal with the introduction of active players in a committee to help iron out some of the details.
McIlroy said: “My stance on some of the LIV stuff has softened. They’re contracted to play 14 events, but the other 38 weeks of the year you’re free to do what you want.
“The only thing is there are so many tours and so many golf tournaments. There are only a certain amount of weeks in the year. That’s the complicated part. Trying to figure out which tournaments go where, when do we play them, how many players, what players.”
