PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Don’t look now, but Monday could mark the cornerstone of an agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.
On Friday it was rumored and then first reported by Golfweek that Yasir Al-Rumayyan from PIF will meet PGA Tour player board members. They may not necessarily reach the agreement that has been in negotiations since the middle of last year, but it’s a chance for both sides to meet for the first time and take measure of each other.
Last year PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan met with PIF and Al-Rumayyan in Venice, San Francisco and New York for several days of discussions before getting comfortable with a potential investment from Saudi Arabia.
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When the framework agreement was announced on June 6 both sides described it as a first step toward a definitive agreement and one global entity for golf.
“There’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a strong spirit of partnership,” Monahan said in a June 6 CNBC interview. “But ultimately, the world needs to know that the PGA Tour, PIF and DP World Tour have come together and the tension’s gone, and these are things that we’re going to solve together.”
At the time it was unknown how much money PIF would inject into the new entity. A $3 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group, which was announced earlier this year, wasn't contemplated last summer.
Monahan probably didn’t foresee significant pushback from player members. Some would reportedly call for him to resign.
Monday will mark 287 days since the CNBC interview, and while the negotiations have advanced beyond initial stages, it doesn’t appear a final agreement is much closer than it was on that Tuesday in June.
Since last fall, Masters champion Jon Rahm, DP World Tour player of the year Adrian Meronk and World top-20 player Tyrrell Hatton jumped to LIV. So much for that unwritten non-poaching agreement between the groups.
PIF maintains unlimited financial resources to continue to grow LIV’s footprint. On the other side, the PGA Tour has a new for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, that is newly capitalized and in a much better financial situation than last summer.
That is the backdrop for the Monday meeting.
Adam Scott, a newly added PGA Tour board member, would not confirm the meeting, but was willing to outline an approach for when a meeting does occur, which Scott called necessary.
“I think it is important that we've all met and no matter what anyone's feelings are, I think when you're voting on these things, you can't be completely blind and need to have all the knowledge and input possible to make the best decisions,” Scott said. “So, I think we're going to follow a similar process to how it went with SSG from this point on, although it hasn't been like that. Strictly so far, but from now on, I think that's kind of how it's been explained to me. “
So, if the meeting takes place on Monday as reported, not all board members will attend, as some plan to travel to Tampa for next week’s PGA Tour event. Also, Tiger Woods is not competing at the Players this week, and it’s unclear if he will make a trip to North Florida.
But it seems most of the board will be in attendance and will get their first real look at the man who has forced the PGA Tour to change the way it does business.
At the same time, Al-Rumayyan will finally get a meeting with an influential group of PGA Tour players and try to convince them that neither he nor his country are monsters, and that PIF is just interested in working together to grow the game.
It seems like a low bar to clear, but feelings and emotions are still running high from pre-framework days. If Monday is successful it could be the beginning of path that leads to a definitive agreement and a new era in golf.
