On Friday, a meeting between the PGA Tour Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee and Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund took place in New York City, with many high-profile names attending.
Amongst them were PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, as well as Strategic Sports Group principal John Henry, Tiger Woods and four-time Major winner, Rory McIlroy, with a statement from the subcommittee claiming that “progress was made.”
Attending the meeting remotely from the Memorial Tournament, an event he is playing in this week, McIlroy gave a little more insight into what actually happened during the four-and-a-half hour call, with the 35-year-old claiming that "a lot of progress was made".
After firing a one-over-par third round to sit outside the top 10 at Muirfield Village, McIlroy spoke to the media, stating: "Yeah, very productive, very constructive, very collaborative. I think those are probably three words I would use to describe it (the meeting). Yeah, it was really good. Definitely things are heading in the right direction. A lot of progress was made. I can't really say much more than that, but it was really positive".
He then went on to add: "So the meeting with PIF was three hours, but then the prep call before that was an hour and a half, so probably, like, four and a half hours. I would say -- maybe not surprised, but maybe more encouraged. I think a lot of progress had sort of been made. But, yeah, definitely encouraged.
"In terms of the deal, like the financials and the legal and all that, I think more that was -- those three calls a week were more to do with, like, their investment committee and SSG, so that was more -- that's what those calls were. But I think last night was more, you know, talking about the future of the game and the vision and that was where I thought there was a lot of progress that was made".
It's been just over a year since the shock announcement of a merger between the PGA Tour and PIF, with many wondering what the vision of the professional men's game could look like. Previously, McIlroy has called the possibility of a world tour as a "dream scenario", stating that national Open Championships "definitely mean something else".
However, although golf's participation at grass roots level is on the rise, the viewership of tournaments has been taking a hit, with many PGA Tour tournaments seeing decreases in viewership throughout 2024.
On Saturday, McIlroy stated: You've got to understand, they (PIF) are a sovereign wealth fund. They invest in companies and in different things and they want a return on their investment. That's what they want. It doesn't seem like they're getting that at the minute within golf, and this -- you know, hopefully if things progress and we get to a certain point, then hopefully they see a future where that can happen, they can start to get some returns on their money.
"I think it's a recreational game. I think more people are playing the game. I think people would rather play the game than sit and watch us play. I think rounds of golf are up. I think golf in general is thriving. I think there's never been a bigger disconnect between recreational golf and professional golf, and I think that's a big part of the reason."
