A deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund is not imminent, according to the American circuit's commissioner, Jay Monahan - but the two parties "are making progress" and a consensus has been reached "on several items."
PGA Tour and PIF representatives - including both chairmen and Tiger Woods - met in New York on June 7 to discuss building a successful and harmonious future for men's professional golf. Rory McIlroy joined virtually after admitting he considered flying over to New York midway through the Memorial Tournament, such is the importance of the talks.
The noises to emerge from said summit all pointed towards an advancement being made, and there was even some speculation that a deal could have been agreed as early as this week.
Yet, those rumors were wide of the mark and the two groups remain locked in ongoing negotiations.
In a memo sent out to PGA Tour members on Tuesday evening - following a policy board meeting ahead of the Travelers Championship - Monahan clarified that while some headway had been made, the finishing post was not close at this stage.
According to memo sent to Tour players talks continue with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund towards a “definitive” agreement but there is “still work to do.” pic.twitter.com/vc6OtL5R1GJune 19, 2024
Per Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard, the memo read: "As we've said in the past -- we can't negotiate in public -- but we are making progress. Two weeks ago, members of our PGA Tour Enterprises transaction subcommittee met in New York with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Governor of the PIF, as well as members of his team.
"During that meeting, we reached consensus on several items, but both parties recognize that there is still work to do to reach a final agreement.
"Our talks are ongoing, with the goal of developing a shared vision for the future of professional golf that is pro-competitive and provides players with the best global opportunities.
"Your Player Directors have been crucial in this process. Their insights and perspectives are steering us towards a positive outcome, and we will keep you updated as additional work is accomplished."
The recent talks arrived almost a year to the day that the initial framework agreement was first agreed and published, sending shockwaves through the world of golf.
Since that point, though, the world of men's pro golf has continued to suffer with TV ratings generally on the slide and fans becoming increasingly displeased with the state of the game.
Shortly before the Masters, two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau suggested there are "multiple ways" the governing bodies can "solve the problem" and pointed to reunification as the number one priority for the fans' sake.
And in his post-US Open winning press conference, the 30-year-old reiterated his point. DeChambeau said: "If I’m to be quite frank, I hope we can figure things out quickly. I hope this can bridge the gap between a divided game.
“All I want to do is entertain and do my best for the game of golf, execute and provide some awesome entertainment for the fans. From at least what I can tell, that’s what the fans want, and they deserve that.”
Meanwhile, in the same memo released on Tuesday, the PGA Tour confirmed that it has created a bespoke exemption category exclusively for Woods which will allow the 15-time Major champion the option to play in all Signature Events from next season.
The Sawgrass-based circuit explained that Woods has reached "an exceptional lifetime achievement threshold of 80+ career wins" and would be able to feature at the other seven events at which he does not host.
The 48-year-old has only played four times this season so far - three of which have been Majors - and says he is only planning on teeing it up competitively one more time in 2024, heading to Royal Troon in Scotland for The Open Championship.
