No deadline and little clarity on transactions between PGA Tour and Saudi PIF

ATLANTA – For 20 uninterrupted, tightly scripted minutes, Jay Monahan described the future of the PGA Tour.

With surprising ease, he addressed the principles that guide the Tour’s journey: commitment, momentum and innovation. EMI for short? Probably not, but what became clear during the commissioner’s annual “State of the Tour” press conference at East Lake Golf Club is that the Tour’s future will be shaped within this framework.

Whether the Saudi Public Investment Fund and LIV Golf fit into this framework was not discussed, but it is equally clear. “We are finally at the table together and actively engaging with the Public Investment Fund. We remain optimistic about this outcome,” Monahan said.

It takes just 20 words to address what many consider the most pressing issue facing professional golf today. By comparison, Monahan needs 128 words to address the impact of “influencers” on the game and how Wednesday’s Creator Classic at East Lake was “life-changing.”

To be fair, the Commissioner is in an impossible position. As he has said repeatedly, he cannot and will not negotiate a deal with the PIF in public. Nor can Monahan give any indication that he is not negotiating in good faith.

However, that 20-minute opening statement didn’t mention how the game might be reunited. Monahan didn’t explain what the path back to the Tour might look like for players who joined LIV Golf or how team golf might be integrated into the Tour product.

These are all pressing questions and, just as they were more than a year ago when the Tour and PIF announced the framework agreement, they still have not been answered.

Monahan has received numerous questions about the negotiations. How, for example, a player who joined LIV Golf would be allowed back on the tour, but the answer has been unclear. According to Tyler Dennis, the tour’s director of competitions, a player who has never been a member of the tour would have a “one-year waiting period” before being able to compete, while a former member would have “an additional set of guidelines to consider” before being welcomed back.

The commissioner was also asked bluntly about the need for a deal with the PIF following the Tour’s move to a for-profit model earlier this year and an initial $1.5 billion investment by Strategic Sports Group.

“From what we hear from fans and from players, we are both in a position to bring together the best players in the world. I think that’s a worthy and ambitious goal,” Monahan said. “We’re at the table. These are complex issues and it’s going to take time.”

“I think it’s the right time to have these discussions, and it’s the right time not only for the PGA Tour but for the game. That’s why we’re engaged in these discussions.”

Perhaps the most telling moment of the 50-minute press conference came when Monahan was asked whether a deal with the PIF was as high a priority as it was when the framework agreement was announced in June 2023.

“I would say the focus … has been heightened. It’s stronger. That’s a direct result of the dialogue and the conversation, and really starting to talk about the future, the vision of the future product and where we can take our sport,” he said. “I think when you start productive conversations, it increases the likelihood of positive outcomes, and it strengthens the spirit of those conversations.”

Asked whether there was a deadline, such as the one originally set for a deal of Dec. 31, 2023, Monahan said: “We have not agreed to a deadline. I don’t think we want to limit ourselves in that way. We want to get the best possible outcome at the right time.”

It should also be noted that a negotiation is a two-way street and some members of the Tour council suggest that the slow pace of talks between the two sides is as much a Saudi problem as a Tour problem.

But whatever the cause of the delay, Monahan’s subtle message was clear: the Tour will go ahead with or without the PIF and, by extension, those who have joined the breakaway circuit. Clearly encouraged by an influx of cash and a business model that offers more financial flexibility, the commissaire’s message was clear.

“We now have the structure and resources we need to define the future of professional golf on our terms and the significant support of a world-class group of investors,” he said in his opening remarks.

For those who have spent the last two years struggling to read between the lines, the commissioner’s choice of words was clear: on our terms.