-
Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are “accelerating” and that he still believes getting a deal done with the sovereign wealth fund is the best path forward.
Monahan, speaking at a news conference Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass ahead of this week’s 50th Players Championship, said he met with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan in Saudi Arabia in January, along with partners of Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a consortium of billionaire sports team owners.
“While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf’s worldwide potential,” Monahan said. “It’s going to take time. But I reiterate what I said at the Tour Championship in August — I see a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and the sport as a whole. Most importantly, I see a positive outcome for our great fans.
“I do believe that negotiating a deal with PIF is the best outcome. Obviously, it has to be the right deal for both sides, like any situation or negotiation.”
On Jan. 31, the PGA Tour announced that SSG was infusing as much as $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, a new for-profit entity that will oversee the circuit’s commercial properties. The deal with SSG allowed for the PIF to make a similar investment into PGA Tour Enterprises, subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.
The PGA Tour announced it was forming an alliance with the PIF and the DP World Tour on June 6. The framework agreement expired Dec. 31 but was renewed as negotiations continued.
Monahan said SSG’s investment has helped facilitate a potential deal with the PIF. SSG’s partners include John Henry, the principal of Fenway Sports Group, a conglomerate that owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC and the Pittsburgh Penguins; Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC owner Arthur Blank; and New York Mets owner and CEO Steve Cohen, among others.
Collectively, the SSG investors have more than 200 years of sports ownership experience combined across several leagues, including Major League Baseball, NFL, NHL and NBA.
“The conversations with SSG, I think have enhanced the likelihood of us reaching a successful conclusion,” Monahan said. “When you bring in a group of investors in that consortium that combined have over 200 years of managing professional sports franchises in the U.S. and internationally, and you bring in that level of expertise, I think that that is attractive to the PIF.”
During the hourlong news conference, Monahan declined to provide specifics about whether golfers who left the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf League, which the PIF has financed the past three years, would be allowed to come back. He also declined to say whether team golf having a place in the sport’s future ecosystem was a major part of the discussions.
Sources previously told ESPN that punishment for golfers who left for LIV Golf and team golf’s future, if a deal is reached, are two of the biggest sticking points for the Saudis.
“We’ve made and continue to make real progress in our negotiations and our discussions with the PIF,” Monahan said. “And I recognize that this is frustrating for all of you, but it really is not in the best interest of the PGA Tour, our membership and for the PIF for me to be talking about where we are with specific elements of our discussions. Again, I would just stress the fact that, you know, we’re engaged, we’re making progress, but I’m really not at liberty to share any of the details on that front.”
Monahan said the PGA Tour’s extensive research with fans produced a clear message: “They love golf, and they’re loyal to the PGA Tour. They’re tired of hearing about conflict, money and who is getting what. They want to watch the world’s best golfers compete in tournaments with history, meaning and legacies on the line at venues they recognize and love.”
Many golfers have conflicting views about whether LIV Golf players should be suspended or fined if they’re allowed to come back to the PGA Tour. Mohanan admitted it will be a fine line if the tour reaches that point.
“I think when you’re in a negotiation like this and you’re in a time like this, it requires open-mindedness, it requires flexibility, and it requires a long-term view and a long-term vision, and we push ourselves to continue for that to be our mindset,” Monahan said.
“But however we end up, I think that we’re not going to be able to satisfy everyone, and that goes for both sides. But what we’re trying to do is to get to the best possible outcome again for the tour and for the game, and I do think that that’s achievable.”
Last week, Webb Simpson, a player director on the PGA Tour’s policy board, told Sports Illustrated that the tour couldn’t do a deal with the PIF simply because it feared that LIV Golf might poach more superstars. In December, reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm joined LIV Golf for a multiyear deal that was reportedly worth at least $300 million.
“We don’t want to just do a deal because we’re afraid that the LIV Tour might recruit more players,” Simpson said. “That’s certainly a fear, but I think it’s obvious. The writing is on the wall. We’re not in a position where we need to do a deal for money. We need to do a deal for the good of the game. And for the health of the PGA Tour long term. That’s my hope.
“One thing I’m certain of is fans, players, media, sponsors alike all feel strongly that the game is divided. The game has been divided for a year and a half now. The game misses the personalities of LIV.”