Phil Mickleson gives a thumbs up during LIV Golf’s 2023 Bedminster event. | Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images
Keith Pelley, the outgoing CEO of the DP World Tour, provided an update on the negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Saudi PIF.
A light has emerged at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
According to outgoing DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley, a deal between his tour, the PGA Tour, and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) could be reached soon, per James Corrigan of The Telegraph.
“I’m 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 to Corrigan.
“I said things would heat up after the Ryder Cup, and they have. I’m optimistic [for] the next couple of months. And that’s the primary reason I’m not leaving straight away.”
For the past couple of years, the PIF—with its nearly $700 billion in assets—has bankrolled LIV Golf while investing substantial capital into other areas of the sports world. The PIF is the sovereign wealth fund for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a government with a long history of human rights violations and other issues. Hence, Mohammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has openly advocated for—and will continue—sportswashing to strengthen his country’s economy and geopolitical position.
Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan (L) and DP World Tour Commissioner Keith Pelley (R) at the 2022 BMW PGA Championship.
His plan has worked thus far. The PIF’s investment into LIV has completely changed the landscape of professional golf, dividing the sport while forcing the PGA Tour to alter its structure.
But the tour could not compete with the PIF’s limitless funds, which explains why Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy—two members of the PGA Tour policy board—approached Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, to perhaps strike a deal.
The two sides finally agreed to a ‘framework agreement’ on Jun. 6, 2023. This deal essentially dropped all lawsuits between the two sides while agreeing to work towards a formal agreement that would unite professional golf.
Yet, according to Corrigan, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and al-Rumayyan did not speak for months afterward.
Their first discussion since the announcement came the week before Christmas, when Monahan and al-Rumayyan held a “lengthy” phone call.
As for Pelley, he is on board with the plan, too. He has complete confidence that the parties involved will strike an agreement to bring the game back under one umbrella.
“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 is a priority,” Pelley said.
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DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley and Rory McIlroy chat at the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
“I think unifying the game is something we all want.”
But Pelley is bound by a non-disclosure agreement and thus cannot provide concrete details on what a merger might look like.
Rory McIlroy, however, unveiled his ‘dream scenario’ earlier this week at the Dubai Invitational. He envisions a global tour incorporating events across the world, including in countries often overlooked by the PGA Tour, such as South Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.
Perhaps that is how professional golf will look in the near future. But until then, the golfing world will have to remain patient, just as it has for the past seven months.
At least a beacon of light has finally emerged amidst golf’s civil civil war.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
