PGA Tour commissioner and PGA Tour Enterprises CEO Jay Monahan spoke at the 2024 Tour Championship on Wednesday, and again, no specific update was provided on his organization's ongoing negotiations with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The parties continue to seek fulfillment of a framework agreement that would lead to the PGA Tour and LIV Golf formally falling under the same banner.
"We have not agreed to a deadline," Monahan said. "I don't think we want to restrict ourselves in that way. We want to achieve the best and right outcome at the right time."
Originally, Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced a deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, by which they would complete their agreement. The parties flew past that date, though, with nothing yet to show in terms of bringing the PGA Tour and LIV Golf together.
"I think the best way for me to respond to that is, when you look at where we are right now, we're in regular dialogue." he explained. "We have the right people at the table with the right mindset. I see that in all of these conversations, and that's both sides. That creates optimism about the future and our ability to come together."
Among those "right people at the table" is Tiger Woods, who is part of those discussions as a player director. He was asked about the conversations last month at The Open Championship.
"I can tell you we're making progress," Woods said. "I can't tell you more than that just because we're not going to negotiate on the outside. We've got to keep everything at a high level and private, but things are moving and things are changing. It's evolving each and every day. There's emails and chains and texts and ideas that we bounce back and forth from both sides.
"There's a good interchange of ideas and thoughts of how the game could look like going forward. It's just a matter of putting that all together legally. Obviously, we have the [Department of Justice] with oversight looking into that as well and making sure that we don't do anything improperly there but also making sure that all the players benefit from this as well as everyone who's involved.
"They want to make money as well. They want to make that return. We're now into not just charitable endeavors; we're into a for-profit model. So, we have to make returns."
Monahan echoed a lot of what Woods said at Royal Troon during his press conference Wednesday.
"These conversations are complex," Monahan continued. "They're going to take time. They have taken time, and they will continue to take time. As I sit here today, I think the most important thing for us and our obligations to our fans, our players and our partners is to focus on what we control, which we're doing -- as I outlined -- and to continue to carry this momentum forward.
"But I'm not going to negotiate details in public or disclose details or specifics. All I can say is that conversations continue, and they're productive."
PGA Tour Enterprises, the for-profit wing of the PGA Tour, received an up-to-$3 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group earlier this year, which has lessened the necessity for a merger agreement with the PIF. There has also been recent speculation that money from the PIF invested into global entities could be coming to an end. That is certainly an interesting wrinkle as the PGA Tour tries to determine its future.
