There's No End in Sight to Negotiations Between PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund

Jay Monahan's update at the Tour Championship didn't offer much progress, writes Bob Harig. As for a deadline to complete a new deal, Monahan said there isn't one.

Jay Monahan failed to provide much of an update on the Tour's negotiations with the Saudi PIF this week. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

ATLANTA — About 15 months after the shocking “framework agreement” between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was announced, and nine months after an initial deadline to consummate a deal was missed, it is fair to wonder if such a transaction will ever get done.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan gave a lot of the same non-answers Wednesday that he’s been giving whenever he’s been made available to the media, suggesting that talks are ongoing, complicated and will take time.

But he did hit on a key point, one that would seemingly be the biggest driver of the conversation: getting all of the best players in the world together more often.

“What we hear from fans and what we're hearing from players, ultimately we're both in a position to bring the best players in the world back together. I think that's a good and aspirational goal,” Monahan said during a news conference at East Lake Golf Club, site of the season-ending Tour Championship.

“We're in those discussions. We're at the table. They're complex, and it's going to take time.”

Monahan then added that “we’re going to focus on the things that we control,” and outlined the accomplishments of the Tour including its investment from Strategic Sports Group, the formation of the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises and the Player Equity Program introduced earlier this year that will see players essentially receive ownership in the Tour.

But the path to agreement does not appear imminent.

"We have the right people at the table with the right mindset,” Monahan said. “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.

“But at the same time, these conversations are complex. They're going to take time. They have taken time, and they will continue to take time.”

For now, the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf League are operating separately and will do so again in 2025. The PGA Tour two weeks ago announced its 2025 schedule that is virtually the same as this year’s schedule. LIV Golf has yet to announce its slate but early, unofficial schedule drafts have shown an emphasis on international events with LIV Golf not playing in the United States next year until April.

And with some LIV players perhaps seeing their contracts expire, the path back is not simple.

While DP World Tour players are permitted to pay fines and serve suspensions that allow them to play—LIV Golf’s Tyrrell Hatton, for example, is playing this week’s British Masters in England—those who want to play on the PGA Tour who have competed in LIV events must wait at least a year from their last LIV event.

And for now, the Tour is suggesting the timeframe is even longer for players who were previously members.

“Players who have never played on the Tour and have no outstanding connection to previous membership, there is a one-year waiting period between when you play in an unauthorized event and being able to return to the PGA Tour,” said Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour’s vice president and chief competitions officer.

It is more complicated if a player was a member, and the Tour typically does not announce discipline.

“Players who are members or were members of the Tour also have all of our tournament regulations and conduct policies applying to them,” said Dennis, who declined to offer specifics. “But there’s an additional set of guidelines to consider.”

PGA Tour members who competed in LIV Golf events were in violation of the Tour’s conflicting-events rules by not receiving releases to play opposite of PGA Tour events.

How that all plays out is likely part of the negotiating process, and it’s a tricky problem. PGA Tour players who remained loyal have no desire to see LIV golfers who left the PGA Tour simply come straight back. And yet, if there is to be a deal, the PIF will argue for a path back sooner.

As for a deadline to get something done, Monahan said there isn’t one.

For now, the best in the world—such as Bryson DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open, and Rory McIlroy, who finished second—won't compete in the same event again until the Masters in April.

“I don't think we want to restrict ourselves in that way,” Monahan said. “We want to achieve the best and right outcome at the right time.”

And despite the original intent to get a deal done quickly, Monahan maintained that the passage of time has actually improved the relationship between everyone involved.

“It's been enhanced. It's stronger,” he said. “That's a direct result of dialogue and conversation and really starting to talk about the future, future product vision and where we can take our sport.

“I think when you get into productive conversations, that enhances the likelihood of positive outcomes, and that enhances the spirit of those very conversations. I think that's where things stand.”