PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, on Wednesday, revealed that the deal between PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is ‘not imminent.’ Discussing the deal’s status with reporters at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the Tour chief stated that negotiations are still underway.
Monahan held his first talk with the media since the Players Championship on Monday. The circuit head acknowledged that the release of the 2025 PGA Tour schedule could be viewed as a sign of a delayed deal with LIV Golf. He confirmed that the two series will continue to work separately next year, until further notice.
Giving a worrying update to fans, Monahan stated that the ongoing negotiation is “very complicated” and is not limited to a certain timeframe.
Speaking at TPC Southwind ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Jay Monahan said, as quoted by SI:
“They’re very complicated discussions…. There’s a lot of elements to them. When you have the level of interaction, we’re continuing to meet and move forward and discuss and debate, you can’t be anything but hopeful…. As it relates to times and timeframes and where we are, I’ll just say we’re in a good place with the conversations. That’s the most important thing.”
Monahan went on to state that they’ve been involved in ‘a lot of meetings,’ however, he denied going into the ‘specifics of it.’ He added that “there is a lot of dialogue” between the two sides.
It is pertinent to note that the PGA Tour announced its 2025 schedule on Wednesday. The newly announced calendar mirrors the 2024 schedule with date swaps in the Memorial Tournament and the RBC Canadian Open being the top changes.
PGA Tour-PIF deal update so far
Jay Monahan’s comments on the delayed deal between the PGA Tour and PIF come a year after he announced the ‘framework agreement’ between the two sides. The original announcement was made on June 6, 2023, and the PGA chief had gone on a month-long medical leave since.
Notably, he’d returned at the FedEx St. Jude to give updates after the shocking development that saw him and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF come together. According to the two chiefs, the deal was ‘imminent’ and all parties involved were working to roll out the deal in the following months.
However, no major announcements have come out since. In the meanwhile, the PGA announced a deal made with Strategic Sports Group (SSG) that pumped $1.5 billion into the new PGA Tour Enterprises. The side also made a sub-committee, involving Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to lead the discussions with LIV Golf and its officials. Updates from this group also have been scarce.
It is pertinent to note that LIV Golf is set to host its 12th event of the year at Greenbrier Resort this weekend. Unlike the PGA, the Saudi-backed series is yet to announce its 2025 schedule. The side had earlier hinted at introducing more international events to its calendar, despite still not being accredited with Official World Golf Ranking points.
Edited by Vishnu Mohan
