Keith Pelley Says Deal With LIV Golf Could Happen Soon

The outgoing head of the DP World Tour believes a deal among the European-based circuit, the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia can be completed soon—and that he will stay in his role until April to help see it finalized.

Keith Pelley announced Thursday that he is leaving the DP World Tour to take a job as head of the Maple Leaf Sports Group in Toronto.

Pelley, 60, has been at what was formerly called the European Tour since 2015, and he will be replaced by another executive, Guy Kinnings.

But Pelley told The Telegraph at the DP World Tour event this week in Dubai that he believes a deal can be reached and that it is right for the game.

Pelley plans to help finalize a deal with LIV Golf before he departs from the DP World Tour.

IMAGO/GEPA pictures

“I am here for the next three months, and by then we hope to come to a conclusion, and I’ve told the PGA Tour and representatives from PIF that is my primary focus,” Pelley said at the Dubai Invitational. “I truly believe (a deal can be completed). I’ve believed it for a long time, and that is the reason that we entered the framework agreement—and we need to move forward.”

The parties entered into a “framework agreement” on June 6 that shocked the golf world because PGA Tour representatives including commissioner Jay Monahan had negotiated with the PIF, led by governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, in secret.

The deal surprised players who were unaware talks were taking place. And it came after the Tour had publicly bashed the Saudi-led LIV Golf League and went to great lengths to encourage players to remain loyal to the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.

The agreement had a Dec. 31 deadline to be completed, but on that day Monahan announced that talks would progress. Although they have been slow at times, Pelley told the Telegraph that he always believed a deal was possible.

“I said things would heat up after the Ryder Cup and they have,” Pelley said. “So yeah, I’m optimistic over the next couple of months. And that’s the primary reason I’m not leaving straight away.

“I had a conversation with the [DP World Tour] chairman and the nomination committee to stay on to try to bring the framework agreement to a conclusion (and) is a priority. I think unifying the game is something we all want.”

Players on both sides of the divide have softened their stance in recent weeks and have spoken of figuring out a way to bring the game back together. Rory McIlroy suggested as part of the new PGA Tour Enterprises—the for-profit company that would bring together the assets of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf—a worldwide schedule and a time for team competition.

For now, there are just ideas and no firm disclosures about how the new entity would look. For 2024, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf are playing separate schedules, meaning the best players from all those circuits can play in the same events only at the four major championships.

The signing last month by LIV of reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm apparently kickstarted talks again after the PGA Tour had been seeking other outside investment. The Tour has stated publicly that it is negotiating exclusively with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of wealthy investors that includes Fenway Sports. The idea is to complete that arrangement and then add the PIF, which is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund with a worth approximately $700 billion.

Monahan and Al-Rumayyan had been scheduled to meet before Christmas but never did. But the two apparently spoke by phone, according to the Telegraph, pushing the discussions further along, Pelley said.

“To see a conclusion reached before I leave would be something that would be very gratifying,” Pelley said.