Jay Monahan speaks with the media ahead of the Tour Championship on August 22, 2023. | Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan spoke with the media ahead of the Tour Championship, providing updates on the tour’s deal with PIF.
ATLANTA — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan met with the media Tuesday, providing updates on the tour’s framework agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“The PGA Tour is in the driver’s seat,” Monahan noted. “The PGA Tour is leading our sport forward. And as we sit here today at the Tour Championship, this represents the very best of the PGA Tour.”
Over two months ago, Monahan sat side by side with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, to announce a ‘framework agreement.’ Essentially, the two sides have until the end of the 2023 calendar year to negotiate a deal that unites professional golf in the future.
That deal also ended any pending litigations the two sides had against one another.
“We have operated in good faith, and I see that on both sides,” Monahan said of the negotiations.
“Our commitment is to move from the divisive nature of the relationship we had to a productive one, for us to be able to make a fundamental transition to our business with the formation of NewCo, to have an investable entity for PIF to believe in and able to invest in that previously didn’t exist, for the PGA Tour to be in control of the future of men’s professional golf and for us to be partners.”
Monahan was later pressed about specifics, as he was asked about the future of LIV Golf, the schedule beyond 2024, and the potential return of suspended players to the PGA Tour.
“I think there are a lot of questions that are specific questions that are going to come as it relates to elements of what is in the framework agreement and elements of what we’re talking about,” Monahan said.
“I’m not going to talk publicly about them until we’ve completed those discussions, and I can answer those questions specifically and directly.”
Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and PGA Tour President Tyler Dennis speak to the media at East Lake Golf Club on August 22, 2023.
Although he did not disclose any details, PGA Tour President Tyler Dennis, who appeared alongside Monahan, noted that conversations with PIF occur weekly.
Monahan and Dennis also said they are confident a deal will get done and that their sole focus is working with the PIF to strike an agreement.
No other alternative currently exists for the tour, so reaching a deal with PIF is imperative.
Yet, the specifics of what professional golf will look like beyond 2024 remains to be seen.
But right now, all signs point to the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and the PIF striking a deal before 2023 concludes.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
