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PGA Tour’s Pact With Saudi Wealth Fund Shows Many Details Left to Settle

The five-page agreement provoked a furor but included only a handful of binding provisions.

By Alan Blinder

The PGA Tour’s tentative deal with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to form an alliance with the rival LIV Golf series includes only a handful of binding commitments — such as a nondisparagement agreement and a pledge to dismiss acrimonious litigation — and leaves many of the most consequential details about the future of men’s professional golf to be negotiated by the end of the year.

The five-page framework agreement was obtained by The New York Times on Monday, the day the tour shared a copy of it with a Senate subcommittee that plans to hold a July hearing about the deal.

The proposed deal, announced on June 6 by the tour and the wealth fund, the financial force behind the renegade LIV Golf circuit, has caused an uproar throughout the golf industry. But a review of the agreement points to the rushed nature of the secret, seven-week talks that led to the deal and the complex path that remains ahead for the new venture, a potential triumph for Saudi Arabia’s quest to gain power and influence in sports and, its critics say, to distract from its reputation as a human rights abuser.

Most crucially, the tour and the wealth fund must still come to terms on the values of the assets that each will contribute to their planned partnership. Bankers and lawyers have spent recent weeks beginning the valuation process, but the framework agreement includes no substantive details of projected figures or even the size of an anticipated cash investment from the wealth fund.

Instead, much of the agreement focuses on the basic structure of the new company that is to house what the accord describes as all of the “commercial businesses/rights” of the PGA Tour and the European Tour, now known as the DP World Tour.

The wealth fund is expected to contribute its “golf-related investments and assets,” including the LIV circuit that split the sport, and will have the first opportunity to invest in the new company. The tentative agreement says that the PGA Tour is to maintain “at all times a controlling voting interest” in the new company, but that Yasir al-Rumayyan, the wealth fund’s governor, will serve as the chairman of the new joint entity. Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner who recently went on leave because of an unspecified “medical situation,” is in line to become its chief executive.

The new company, according to the agreement, could pursue “targeted mergers and acquisitions to globalize the sport” and may look to incorporate “innovations from LIV,” such as the team golf concept that the league has championed since it debuted last year.

Those provisions, though, are not binding until the tour and the wealth fund strike a final agreement. Instead, the only ironclad caveats of the agreement involve seeking the dismissal of litigation , a mandate fulfilled on June 16; a ban on recruiting players to rival circuits; a deadline of Dec. 31 to sign final accords, absent a mutual extension; and confidentiality and nondisparagement clauses.

The effective gag agreement appears far-reaching and prohibits the tour and the wealth fund from “any defamatory or disparaging remarks, comments or statements” about the other side and any “ultimate beneficial owners” — a phrase that could be interpreted to include the Saudi government, which the tour had previously condemned for its human rights record.

“I recognize everything that I’ve said in the past and in my prior positions,” Monahan, a leading architect of the deal, said this month. “I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite. Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that’s trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms, but circumstances do change.”

Saudi officials have denied that their investments in sports, which include efforts in soccer , Formula 1 racing and boxing, are intended to sanitize the kingdom’s reputation. Instead, they have depicted those investments as a glossy component of a sweeping effort to diversify the country’s economy under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader who is also the wealth fund’s chairman.

Al-Rumayyan, the wealth fund’s governor, signed the agreement on behalf of the Saudis, with no evidence of direct involvement by Greg Norman, LIV’s commissioner.

Monahan and Keith Pelley, the DP World Tour’s chief executive, effectively represented the golf establishment when they signed the deal behind closed doors in San Francisco on May 30. It was sprung upon almost the entire golf industry, including most of the PGA Tour’s board, a week later.

The board, which has been considering the deal that it was largely shut out of negotiating, is expected to discuss the pact’s initial terms during a meeting in Detroit on Tuesday. The 11-member board is not believed to be planning a vote yet because the final nuances of the accord may not be hammered out for months.

The deal faces scrutiny well beyond the tour’s board. In Washington , Justice Department officials and congressional investigators are preparing to pore over the details of the accord, which antitrust regulators could ultimately try to block. The tour shared a copy of the agreement with a Senate subcommittee on Monday evening, just more than two weeks before a hearing on Capitol Hill that many expect to become contentious.

But tour executives concluded in recent months that the new economic order that LIV’s swift rise provoked — swelling legal bills, larger prize purses, a diluted product with the world’s most marketable players competing against one another only four times a year at golf’s major tournaments — was unsustainable. They sought a détente with the Saudis and found a receptive audience in and around the wealth fund, where some officials were frustrated by a series of legal setbacks connected to LIV and uneven success in gaining traction in the crucial American sports market.

The second paragraph of the framework nodded toward the turmoil, with the tour and the wealth fund saying they were interested in “ending divisions.” Some elements of the deal amounted to olive branches. In one section, for instance, the two sides agreed to “cooperate in good faith and use best efforts” to bring secure Official World Golf Ranking accreditation for LIV events.

The fate of LIV, which sapped the PGA Tour of some of its star players after offering exorbitant contracts and prize purses, is not included in a binding part of the deal. Instead, the new company, if it comes to pass, is expected to “undertake a full and objective empirical data-driven evaluation of LIV and its prospects and potential.”

The framework does not outline any financial penalties if the deal does not ultimately progress, but it says the tour and the wealth fund “can revert to operating their respective businesses” if the agreement collapses.

Alan Blinder is a sports reporter. He has reported from more than 30 states, as well as Asia and Europe, since he joined The Times in 2013. More about Alan Blinder

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PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV merge in stunning end to bitter golf rivalry

The PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf announced a merger Tuesday in a stunning end to their bitter rivalry on the fairways, in the courts and on the geopolitical stage.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who once said playing in LIV events would warrant an apology , said the deal would benefit the sport.

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” M onahan said in a statement . "Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made — to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future."

Monahan told CNBC the move was necessary to grow the sport.

"There’s been a lot of tension in our sport for the last couple of years. But what we’re talking about today is coming together to unify the game of golf and to do so under one umbrella," he said.

"Together, we’re going to move forward, and we’re going to take efforts to grow and expand this great game and take it to new heights."

Golf legend Phil Mickelson, who had led prominent players away from the PGA Tour to help form LIV, tweeted his approval of the news Tuesday morning.

And former President Donald Trump, a backer of LIV, took a victory lap Tuesday , declaring he had predicted that the PGA Tour would have to come to an agreement with the Saudi-backed golf operation.

Loved ones of 9/11 victims have protested outside of LIV events, drawing attention to Saudi connections to the 2001 terrorist attacks .

"PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed," 9/11 Families United Chair Terry Strada said in a statement Tuesday.

"Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money — it was never to honor the great game of golf," Strada said. 

While the deal carries some risk for the PGA Tour, George Washington University sports marketing professor Lisa Delpy Neirotti said players, consumers and golf sponsors ultimately have short memories and just want to see the world’s best tee off every weekend.

“Players just want to get paid, and they want to play against their top competitors — and fans want it, too,” she said. “They don’t want to not have the top players playing in the PGA.” 

The agreement will also end all litigation p rompted by the PGA Tour 's suspension of players who had ignored its threats and played in LIV events.

The desire to end lawsuits was most likely a key factor in the unusual union, though Univers i ty of Buffalo sports law professor Hellen "Nellie" Drew said new lawsuits could come into play from sponsors unhappy with Saudi involvement.

"Typically these agreements have some kind of good faith morals clause," Drew said. "You [a sponsor] want the goodwill associated with the PGA Tour. Now that PGA Tour's goodwill is substantially connected to human rights issues, that's a whole different animal. That's not what you're paying for."

LIV was formed in 2022 with 48 players led by Mickelson, along with Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, with a prize fund of $405 million; they and other high-profile players reportedly got deals of at least $100 million to leave the PGA Tour.

Tuesday's announcement came nearly a year after Monahan blasted players for signing up for LIV events, saying association with the Saudi fund would leave a moral stain.

A dramatic and stern-faced Monahan said last year he knows families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks and told LIV golfers to take a long look in the mirror before they accepted Saudi government money.

“I would ask any player that has left or any player that would ever consider leaving, ‘Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?’” Monahan said from Toronto on the CBS telecast of the RBC Canadian Open.

The merger didn't come as a complete surprise to veteran U.S. diplomat Richard N. Haass.

"I thought it was near-inevitable, as LIV was not going away, given Saudi financial support and strength of several LIV golfers," said Haass, the p resident of the Council on Foreign Relations .

"Plus, efforts to isolate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were fading in the wake of the president's visit to and subsequent developments," he said.

Sports has been an increasingly important tool of the Saudi government’s efforts to ingratiate itself on the world stage and gloss over the kingdom’s human rights record. Critics of the kingdom have called the practice “sportswashing.”

• While advancing in age, 38-year-old soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo could still play in an upper-tier world league. But he opted for playing in the Saudi Pro League this past season .
• The venerable English Premier League club Newcastle United was bought by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund .
• The kingdom boasts of the world’s richest horse race, the Saudi Cup, with a purse of $20 million.
• Saudi interests, among other Middle Eastern entities, have become increasing major players in Formula One racing .

“PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation," said Strada, whose husband , Tom, an avid golfer, was killed in the North Tower nearly 21 years ago.

"But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones. Make no mistake — we will never forget.” 

Neirotti, of George Washington University, said she doesn't expect Saudi money to go away any time soon.

"I mean, the EPL sold out, they took blood money," she said, referring to the English Premier League. "And trust me, many American companies are doing work in Saudi Arabia. Deloitte , name every big consulting company, you don't think they don't have their hands in Saudi Arabia?"

CORRECTION (June 6, 2023, 7:30 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the organization that merged with LIV Golf. It is the PGA Tour, not the PGA, which is a separate organization.

David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Rob Wile is a breaking business news reporter for NBC News Digital.

PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan gives update on merger negotiations with LIV Golf: ‘It’s going to take time’

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia are ongoing and that he and investors flew to Saudi Arabia in January to meet with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

Speaking at his annual news conference before the Players Championship, Monahan maintained that a deal with PIF is the best outcome for the PGA Tour and that he and Al-Rumayyan have a “shared vision” for how to end division and grow the sport.

But, Monahan made sure to clarify multiple times, “It’s going to take time.”

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Citing the ongoing nature of those discussions as he’s done for the past nine months, Monahan declined to expand on any details of where things stand with PIF. For example, he did not comment on any potential path back on Tour for LIV golfers or if there’s a future for team golf in a hypothetical agreement.

The PGA Tour also partnered with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a consortium of billionaire investors, who invested $3 billion to help form the new PGA Tour Enterprises in February. Monahan said SSG agreed it was important to engage with PIF, and SSG investors went with Monahan to meet with PIF in January before finalizing the deal. He did not think the SSG deal made PIF negotiations more difficult or discouraged them.

“I do believe that negotiating a deal with PIF is the best outcome,” Monahan said. “Obviously it has to be the right deal for both sides, like any situation or negotiation.”

Monahan was asked often about frustration from his PGA Tour membership with how this has been handled and whether or not LIV players should be allowed a return back. He did not deny a direct question asking if the PGA Tour policy board has ever asked him to resign, saying there has been lively debate but he considers it now a unified front.

“I can’t generalize as it relates to players,” Monahan said, “but clearly given the responsibility I’ve been given by both boards, I have the support of our board, and I am the right person to lead us forward. I know that. I believe that in my heart, and I’m determined to do exactly that.”

Monahan also spoke about refocusing on golf fans. Golf as a sport is at its most popular, thanks in part to a golf boom during COVID-19, and Monahan said much of the hope for SSG getting a return on its investment is to provide more value for fans. He said feedback from fans has been a desire to see more golf shots during coverage, more data and analytics and more innovations like mic’d up segments with mid-round interviews of golfers.

Required reading

• PGA Tour, PIF miss Dec. 31 merger deadline, extend negotiations into 2024
• Who are the men behind LIV-PGA merger? What to know about Jay Monahan, Yasir Al-Rumayyan

(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)

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Brody Miller covers golf and the LSU Tigers for The Athletic. He came to The Athletic from the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A South Jersey native, Miller graduated from Indiana University before going on to stops at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Indianapolis Star, the Clarion Ledger and NOLA.com. Follow Brody on Twitter @ BrodyAMiller

PGA Tour agrees to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf

The LIV Golf rival circuit launched in 2022 and has lured a number of big-name players from the PGA Tour, including Hall of Fame golfer Phil Mickelson. The PGA Commissioner called it "a historic day for the game".

Chief sub-editor @IsaacMoore91

Friday 9 June 2023 11:16, UK

The PGA Tour has agreed to merge with its Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf.

The shock announcement comes after a year of unprecedented disruption in the men's professional game following the launch of the LIV Golf circuit.

The two tours signed an agreement that would combine the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's commercial businesses and rights into a new, yet-to-be-named for-profit company. The agreement includes the DP World Tour, also known as the European PGA Tour.

The rival circuit launched in 2022 and has lured a number of big-name players from the PGA Tour, including Hall of Fame golfer Phil Mickelson, former world number one Dustin Johnson and reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka.

The LIV Golf series is bankrolled by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and critics have accused it of being a vehicle for the country to attempt to improve its reputation in the face of criticism of its human rights record.

In a statement, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said: "After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.

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"This transformational partnership recognises the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR's history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV - including the team golf concept - to create an organisation that will benefit golf's players, commercial and charitable partners and fans."

As part of the deal, the sides are dropping all lawsuits against each other.

It is unclear what form the LIV Golf League would take in 2024.

In response to the news, Mickelson, who had led prominent players away from the PGA Tour to help form LIV, tweeted: "Awesome day today".

'A momentous day'

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: "This is a momentous day. We are delighted to be able to not only reignite our relationship with PIF, but also to have the opportunity to build on our current Strategic Alliance partnership with the PGA Tour."

Reports first emerged of plans for a rival league to the PGA Tour as far back as 2019, but it was only in late 2021 that the proposal truly began to take shape. LIV Golf Investments was formed, with PIF - the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia - its majority shareholder.

An anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour was originally filed last August by 11 golfers before being taken over by LIV Golf. It was due to be heard in 2024.

It's a sensational sports truce and now it will be the PGA helping the Saudis launder their reputation

Sports correspondent

It's a sensational sports truce with significance beyond sport – further asserting Saudi wealth, status and soft power.

When LIV Golf split the world of golf by launching a rebel series last year, the established PGA Tour of America's moral outrage couldn't have been clearer.

The PGA claimed the Saudi sovereign wealth fund was using the "sport of golf to 'sportswash' the Saudi government's deplorable reputation for human rights abuses".

Hundreds of millions of pounds in signing on fees and prize money enticed stars, including former world No 1 Englishman Lee Westwood and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who were banished from the PGA for defecting.

Now it will be the PGA helping the Saudis launder their reputation through golf - announcing a merger by LIV that looks like a Saudi takeover.

In April, the DP World Tour won its legal battle against 12 LIV players who committed "serious breaches" of the Tour's code of behaviour by playing in LIV Golf events without permission.

The subsequent increased fines and suspensions prompted Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson to resign their memberships and become ineligible for the Ryder Cup.

Those players could now return to the fold, with the tours pledging to establish a "fair and objective process" for players to re-apply for membership after the end of this season.

The decision to merge comes less than two weeks before the third major championship of the men's golf season, the US Open.

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Senate hearing scrutinizes PGA Tour-LIV golf merger

Ximena Bustillo

PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price, left, and PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne are sworn in before testifying at a Senate hearing on the proposed PGA Tour-LIV Golf partnership on July 11. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price, left, and PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne are sworn in before testifying at a Senate hearing on the proposed PGA Tour-LIV Golf partnership on July 11.

Senate Democrats and Republicans grilled PGA Tour officials over their plans to merge with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf during a Tuesday hearing.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations heard testimony from PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne, who argued a proposed framework for the deal would allow expensive legal fights and fracturing player and fan base to end.

"Sports are central to our culture and society, they have huge implications for our way of life, our economies and our communities," said Rep. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., later calling the deal a "sell out."

"Athletes like the PGA Tour golf players are role models, they are ambassadors of our values and the institutions that concern us today are vital to our national interests," Blumenthal said. "To have them taken over by a repressive foreign regime certainly is a matter of our national security."

The Saudi-backed LIV Golf tees off, and the PGA Tour quickly suspends 17 players

The hearing comes a month after the PGA Tour, the world's leading professional golf league, agreed to merge with LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded upstart league. The two leagues were fierce competitors until the announced merger, with lawsuits and countersuits, as well as a battle over golf's biggest names.

Price raised concern that PGA Tour runs the threat of "a $700 billion fund recruiting our players and operating a league in an irrational economic matter."

Some players resisted the massive financial incentives to join LIV because of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the source of the league's seemingly endless supply of money.

But several top-name golf players did make the jump from PGA Tour to LIV beginning last year. Golf legend Tiger Woods was offered between $700 million to $800 million to join the Saudi-backed LIV, but he ultimately turned that offer down .

Greg Norman says Tiger Woods turned down a $700-800M Saudi offer to play LIV Golf

"They sued us, we did not decide to sue them. They took our players. Their entire existence is based on taking more of our players — that's just the reality," Dunne said. He added that PGA Tour looks to support the players who have stayed with the American-based league but he and Price warned against LIV's future expansion without a merge.

"If LIV stays in existence and continues to take our top players from us, that will put pressure on our ability to retain those media revenues and sponsorship revenues. They could decline in the future," Price said. "That is the existential threat."

News of the merger resulted in bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers raising not only Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record but also potential antitrust issues raised by the merger. Last month, Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren to the Justice Department sent a letter urging the Justice Department to look into any potential antitrust violations in the deal.

Consider This from NPR

The pga liv golf deal is all about the green.

Though the deal between the two leagues has yet to be finalized, it's faced a backlash from players who remain loyal to the PGA Tour and from human rights activists who see this as an attempt by the Saudi government to use sports to draw attention away from their record of human rights abuses.

Price said the public congressional hearings make it difficult to finalize any deal.

"I generally don't negotiate a deal in public but we are committed to trying to move from a framework agreement to a definitive agreement because we believe that would allow us to continue our leadership in professional golf," Price said. "But these proceedings make that even more difficult."

A framework of the deal , which does not reflect any final agreement, places a hold on LIV's recruitment, includes a non-solicitation agreement between both entities and asks for a final agreement before the year.

While Blumenthal pushed the PGA Tour leaders to ensure the deal would not require players to sign a non-disparagement clause, Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky argued there is "no grounds for government to be involved in the game of golf."

Who really benefits from the PGA-LIV merger

The PGA Tour officials said they "wouldn't recommend" a non-disparagement clause.

"Our position is players are free to speak their mind under this framework," Price said.

9/11 families present at the hearing

Blumenthal and other members also raised concerns about ties to the Saudi government on behalf of the surviving members of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, some of whom were present at the hearing.

Some of the starkest criticism of the impending deal comes from 9/11 Families United, a group representing thousands — many still undergoing court proceedings to hold the Saudi government responsible for the attacks, as NPR has previously reported.

"We are outraged that they are coming now to America, pouring billions of dollars into one of our time-honored, loved sports of golf, all in an effort to get the American people in the world to forget about how they used to spend their billions of dollars," Terry Strada, chair of 9/11 Families United, told NPR's Susan Davis , calling the deal an attempt of " sportswashing ."

Dunne committed to meeting with the families and denounced any involvement in the attacks but cautioned against potential discrimination against the Saudis.

Correction July 14, 2023

A previous version of the web story and headline referred to the PGA but should have said PGA Tour. They are not the same. And one instance incorrectly said Ron Price is CEO of the PGA. Price is COO of the PGA Tour. In the audio, we say that Jimmy Dunne is a PGA board member. In fact, Dunne is a PGA Tour board member.

• saudi government
• families united
• Human Rights

PGA Tour agrees to partner with Saudi-backed LIV Golf, ending bitter feud

After months of acrimony that stretched from tee boxes to court rooms, the PGA Tour and its deep-pocketed Saudi-funded rival, LIV Golf, announced Tuesday they are merging parts of their operations, bringing an end to a bitter feud that divided the golf world and revamped the economics underpinning the sport.

The stunning announcement came after months of pointed rhetoric and heated debate about the human rights record of the breakaway circuit’s Saudi backers. It also came amid ongoing litigation between LIV and the PGA Tour.

The sides agreed to mutually end “all pending litigation between the participating parties,” the organizations said in a Tuesday morning statement announcing the agreement, which also includes the DP World Tour, a Europe-based league. The three organizations will combine to create a new for-profit commercial entity and will continue operating distinct tours, at least for now. The PGA Tour will continue operating as a nonprofit organization, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will become a major tour sponsor, a provision that shocked many in the industry after tour officials and golfers spent 18 months disparaging LIV’s Saudi funding.

“In terms of how did we get to this point and how did we go from a confrontation to now being partners, we just realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart,” Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said on a video conference call with reporters.

The agreement effectively ends one of the biggest sports feuds in decades. LIV Golf had roiled the establishment by luring some of the game’s best players with hefty paychecks, a lighter schedule and less competitive tournaments.

It also further establishes Saudi Arabia as a rising power across the global sports landscape. The oil-rich country and its wealth fund, reportedly worth $500 billion, have been busy investing in sports properties, signing some of the world’s biggest soccer stars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, buying the English soccer club Newcastle United and making major investments in Formula One and women’s golf. That fund now has a coveted seat at the PGA Tour’s leadership table and becomes among the most influential stakeholders in golf.

The negotiations took place in secret, with a small number of people from either organization aware that a deal was imminent, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. Discussions started about seven weeks ago and included four in-person meetings and several video chats. The talks intensified over the past week or so, one of those people said, and didn’t include players from either group. Monahan said the initial framework of the agreement was finalized Monday night.

Golfers and high-ranking employees of both circuits were largely in the dark, with many saying they learned about the deal from news reports Tuesday morning.

What questions do you have about the PGA-LIV merger? Ask The Post.

PGA Tour players, many of whom expressed confusion on social media , met with Monahan on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto, site of this week’s Canadian Open. Monahan described the meeting as “intense, certainly heated.”

“It’s been a very dynamic and complex couple of years,” Monahan told reporters. “For players, I’m not surprised — this is an awful lot to ask them to digest, and this is a significant change for us in the direction that we were going down.”

LIV officials declined to comment Tuesday beyond the jointly issued news release, in which Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor, said “the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf.” LIV’s current season schedule will continue, with seven remaining events, starting with a stop in Spain later this month. There were no immediate details about LIV’s status beyond this season and whether it intended to operate a separate circuit in 2024. Monahan said he couldn’t see a scenario where golfers would play on the PGA Tour and with LIV next season.

The vague announcement left many unanswered questions , including how LIV players would be welcomed back into the PGA Tour’s fold. LIV players, banned from the PGA Tour after joining the breakaway circuit, could face repercussions, possibly including fines or suspensions, if they want to return. The deal also left some critics aghast, with analyst Brandel Chamblee calling it “one of the saddest days in the history of professional golf.”

The PGA Tour does not view the deal as a merger, but it could still need to pass scrutiny from the Justice Department’s antitrust division, which launched an investigation of the PGA Tour last year, according to people familiar with the situation. Under Merrick Garland, the Justice Department has brought forth high-profile cases against companies that it alleges are violating federal anti-monopoly laws, including a recent suit attempting to block the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. Through a spokesperson, the Justice Department declined to comment.

While PGA Tour officials and some players had strongly objected to the Saudi funding of LIV, the Saudis will now be a major financial backer of the tour. Monahan said the Public Investment Fund will be a “premier corporate sponsor,” and Rumayyan will serve as chair of a board of directors of the new commercial entity, with Monahan continuing in his role as chief executive. Rumayyan will also be given a spot on the PGA Tour’s influential policy board.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in a statement that he would “keep a close eye on the structure of this deal and its implications” while condemning the PGA Tour for allowing golf to be “used unabashedly by the Kingdom to distract from its many crimes. The PGA Tour has placed a price on human rights and betrayed the long history of sports and athletes that advocate for social change and progress.”

With its deep-pocketed investors, LIV was able to sign away some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names, including major champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. LIV staged eight events last year and seven so far this year but was never close to turning a profit. The league struggled to find a broadcast partner, eventually striking a modest TV deal with CW Network , and never signed any big-name corporate sponsors, instead relying on the PIF to almost exclusively fund the project.

The PGA Tour-LIV merger stunned pro golfers — and upset more than a few

This week’s deal came together without the knowledge of the network partners, according to an executive at one of the PGA Tour’s broadcast partners. “We just learned about this,” the executive said, adding even many of its tour contacts had no knowledge of the deal before Tuesday morning.

Financial terms of the deal were not released, and it’s unclear how the agreement might affect golf telecasts, one front of the battle between the two leagues. The PGA Tour has lucrative deals with NBC, CBS and ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN Plus, and as LIV sought its own TV deal, those networks showed little interest, at least in part to keep their partner, the PGA Tour, stronger. LIV drew paltry TV ratings with CW Network and quickly stopped reporting its viewership.

The new circuit was widely criticized as “ sportswashing ,” an attempt by the Saudi Arabian government to distract from the country’s human rights abuses, including the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA has concluded was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Players were often asked about the moral implications of playing for LIV, while Mickelson created a maelstrom by telling journalist Alan Shipnuck that the Saudis were “scary motherf---ers to get involved with.” He later took an extended absence from the game.

Terry Strada, the chair of 9/11 Families United, an advocacy group that had protested some LIV Golf events because of its Saudi ties, said Tuesday that Monahan had “co-opted the 9/11 community” and now “the PGA [Tour] and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills.” Monahan last year said he “would ask any player that has left or any player that would consider leaving, ‘Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?’ ” — comments cited by Strada on Tuesday.

“PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed,” said Strada, whose husband, Tom, died in the World Trade Center and who has accused the Saudis of helping to finance terrorism. “Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA [Tour] as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money — it was never to honor the great game of golf.”

Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger

Monahan acknowledged his past comments but said the deal was needed because “it wasn’t sustainable to have this tension in our sport.”

“I recognize everything that I’ve said in the past and my prior positions; I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,” he told reporters. “Anytime I’ve said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment and I said it based on someone that’s trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. So I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change.”

The bitter conflict was costly for both, and the agreement was touted as a victory for each side. While LIV had struggled to establish revenue streams, the PGA Tour was spending millions on legal fees as it sought to tamp down the threat posed by the upstart. In August, LIV Golf filed an antitrust suit saying the tour — by banning players who had defected to LIV — was intentionally trying to curtail competition. The PGA Tour countered with a lawsuit that claimed LIV committed “tortious interference” by encouraging golfers to violate terms of their existing tour contracts.

But even as LIV and the PGA Tour were both left wounded by the sport’s civil war, players on both sides prospered. The PGA Tour was forced to respond to LIV’s largesse, revamping its prize structure and creating new moneymaking opportunities for its players.

The players who had signed up for LIV were still able to play in golf’s four majors, which are operated by separate entities, although their inability to earn Official World Golf Ranking points would have made it harder for them to qualify for future majors. Koepka won the most recent major , last month’s PGA Championship, in a symbolic victory for LIV.

The organizations now will work with the PGA and European tours to determine “fair criteria and terms of readmission,” the statement said. The deal could also open the door for LIV players to compete at the Ryder Cup in September.

Ben Strauss, Paul Kane and Perry Stein contributed to this report.

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The PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger, explained: Who won, who lost, what it means for fans

The pga tour-liv golf merger raises more questions than answers. here's an explanation of what it all means now, and what it could mean in the future..

In one of the most consequential moments in golf history, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf announced on Tuesday morning that they would combine operations to create an as-yet-unnamed new worldwide golf entity . The agreement ends litigation between the two tours, provides a potential pathway for LIV Golf players to rejoin the PGA Tour, and sets up a framework where Saudi Arabia 's Public Investment Fund (PIF) now has a significant stake in the future of men's professional golf.

Much will come to light in the coming hours, days and weeks, but here's what we know and can reasonably speculate so far.

What was the original source of the friction between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf?

LIV, funded by Saudi Arabia's virtually bottomless PIF, grew out of a long-running series of discussions between Tour and Saudi officials that ultimately went nowhere. The LIV Golf tour launched last year with the promise of vast paychecks, a limited schedule, vast paychecks, 54-hole no-cut events, vast paychecks ... and also vast paychecks. Players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson leaped at reported nine-figure offerings to play for LIV, and even unknown players were suddenly cashing mammoth checks just for joining the breakaway tour.

The PGA Tour branded those who jumped to LIV as, in effect, traitors to the Tour's legacy. Players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy offered impassioned defenses of the Tour. Players who joined LIV were criticized for taking money from Saudi Arabia, which has a horrendous record of documented human rights violations. Many were dismissed as irrelevant faded stars, and all saw their world rankings plummet as they played in events not sanctioned by the Official World Golf Rankings.

But LIV players currently hold two of the four major titles, rendering the "LIV is irrelevant" argument obsolete. Not only that, the PGA Tour has adopted (or is planning to adopt) many of LIV's most notable features, from elevated paychecks to no-cut events to team competition, a sign that LIV was posing a threat from a golf perspective, if not a moral one.

Both sides engaged in litigation against the other, and both sides' defenders — from players to commentators to fans — launched broadsides against the other that ranged from angry to downright vicious. How those antagonists will reconcile in the wake of this announcement is an open question.

How did this agreement come about so suddenly?

That's a question a whole lot of people, starting with the players on the PGA Tour, would like to know. Apparently no one outside of a small coterie of top-of-the-organization members of the tours knew this was coming. Players expressed shock and surprise — two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, for instance, found out on Twitter . Even Greg Norman, the brash, outspoken CEO of LIV Golf, apparently only found out via phone call just moments before the announcement was made.

What led to this agreement?

It's still unclear why the two tours (three, including the DP World Tour, the former European Tour) chose this moment to make the deal, but several factors are obviously in play. LIV Golf is struggling to attract both viewers and a network to show its tournaments. The PGA Tour is facing a Department of Justice investigation over potential anticompetitive behavior related to LIV. The PIF was subject to discovery, and a potential in-depth review of its operations, in the lawsuits and counter-lawsuits involving the Tour. And the Tour was facing growing discontent from its star members, who wanted a larger share of purses and guaranteed money.

In short, both sides had wolves at the door, and both are now — at least in theory — stronger together rather than apart.

What does the structure of this agreement mean for golf?

In broad terms, the merger agreement — at least, according to the press release announced Tuesday morning — calls for the PGA Tour to handle golf-related oversight, the "governance" of the new merged entity. Each of the three tours would be responsible for the so-called "inside-the-ropes" operations of its own tour — site selection, tournament operations, rules enforcement, and so on.

The more significant element of the merger concerns its financial structure. Per the press release, PIF "will make a capital investment into the new entity to facilitate its growth and success." Further down in the release is this more significant element: "PIF will initially be the exclusive investor in the new entity, alongside the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour. Going forward, PIF will have the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that may be invested in the new entity, including into the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf and DP World Tour (emphasis added)." In other words, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will provide the seed money for the new operation, will be the only investor, and will have the right to invest — and refuse outside investment — in the PGA Tour itself.

It may be too early to say that LIV Golf bought the PGA Tour, but according to the Tour's own words, Saudi Arabia will own a significant percentage of whatever golf is to become.

What does this mean for the players on the PGA Tour?

If there's a "loser" in this whole scenario, it's the Tour players who were cajoled, guilt-tripped and outright threatened not to leave the Tour for the vast riches of the PIF-backed LIV ... only to watch the Tour dip right into those same riches. And while the money available to players through tournaments will grow, the generational sums offered to LIV's first players surely won't.

Tiger Woods, for instance, turned down a reported $800 million to join LIV. But Woods will be fine without that money. A player like Rickie Fowler, for instance, was offered as much as $75 million to join LIV, but opted to stay with the PGA Tour. It's highly unlikely he'll be offered that sum to join LIV now.

What does this mean for the players on the LIV Golf tour?

Vindication and salvation. Players who jumped to LIV late in their careers, like Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, have cashed in sums that they never would have earned on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour. All the criticism they took for accepting Saudi "blood money" is, in effect, irrelevant, since that same money now bankrolls the entire venture of men's professional golf.

Plus, LIV players now have a pathway back onto the PGA Tour and into the majors, which was one of the key reasons against joining LIV in the first place. LIV players can enjoy the riches they were granted in 2022, and then potentially jump right back onto the PGA Tour in 2024.

What does the merger mean for the fans?

From a pure golf perspective, this is nothing but good news. The best in the game will once again potentially play against one another on a regular basis. Interesting new versions of golf, including team play, will come to the game as a whole, not just LIV. The game will expand far beyond the boundaries of the United States, bringing in a whole new international contingent of fans and, eventually, players.

However, the fans who were disgusted at LIV for its Saudi origins will be no more inclined to watch a Saudi-backed PGA Tour, either. The new venture will test American fans' appetite for Saudi-backed ventures ... which could factor significantly into American sports in the future.

What does the PGA Tour-LIV agreement mean for future Saudi investment in American sports?

Golf, as embodied by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods, is as American as it gets: dramatic, big-hitting, celebratory. But golf now is under the financial auspices of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Previously, Saudi investment in existing major sports had been limited to individual teams ( Newcastle United in the Premier League, for instance) or individual events (as with Formula 1), but this marks the first time that Saudi Arabia has taken a significant financial stake in an established worldwide league. The implications for the future of golf — as well as other major sports — are unclear, but the PIF is clearly making a play to take a key role in the biggest sports on the planet.

Much remains to be revealed, and much more to play out, but this much is clear: Tuesday marked a historic day in golf, one whose effects will resonate for decades — one way or another.

PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger explained: What to know about deal that shocked golf world

The golf world is still reeling from Tuesday's surprise announcement of the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and LIV Golf agreeing to merge their business operations.

The deal was a shock to many, considering the controversy surrounding the Saudi-backed LIV Golf and the PGA Tour's disapproval of it since the new league was formed. Not many of the key people involved in either league knew the deal was going to happen until it was announced.

Yet little is known about what the merger will mean for the future of golf, such as does this mean more lucrative purses for PGA Tour winners, will the PGA Tour shorten to 54-hole tournaments or if LIV players are all eligible for PGA Tour events.

Here's what we know about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal:

What does the PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal mean?

There is still uncertainty on deal's details, but there are off-the-course ramifications, including:

• The Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth investment fund of the Saudi government, "will make a capital investment into the new entity to facilitate its growth and success," according to a news release. The fund will also be the exclusive investor of the "new entity."
• Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund, will be part of a newly formed board of directors.
• All outstanding litigation, including a lawsuit filed by a number of golfers who joined the LIV tour  filed against the PGA Tour , ends.

How did PGA Tour and LIV Golf reach a deal?

The two sides were in talks for the last seven weeks, the Associated Press reported , as PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan met with Al-Rumayyant. The meetings were arranged by PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne.

Monahan realized LIV Golf had a deep well of funds and wasn’t going anywhere. He says golf was too divided and had too much tension and it was best for everyone to come together.

"No one had word of this," Monahan said Tuesday. "Our players expect us to operate in the best interests of the tour."

Instead, he cited guidance from corporate members of the PGA Tour board.

Will LIV golfers be allowed back on the PGA Tour?

LIV Golf is currently in the middle of its season, which isn't scheduled to end until November. Once its season ends, the three leagues "will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process" to allow players who left the PGA Tour and DP tour to re-apply for membership.

Will the PGA Tour change?

One of the main differences between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is the latter plays 54-hole tournaments and has team play.

While the PGA Tour hasn't confirmed if any changes will be made to tournaments, it's unlikely; the Tour said it "retains administrative oversight of events for those assets contributed by the PGA Tour, including the sanctioning of events, the administration of the competition and rules."

Why is LIV Golf so controversial?

The LIV tour drew criticism because it is funded entirely by the PIF, the sovereign wealth investment fund of the Saudi government.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi , a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

LIV Golf has been seen as the Saudi government taking part in "sportswashing" − or using sports to polish a country's otherwise problematic reputation. 

What have PGA Tour golfers said?

Some PGA Tour golfers have reacted negatively to the announced merger, ranging from them finding out about the news on Twitter , to others seeing it as the Tour going back on its word it wouldn't work with LIV.

Monahan held a players-only meeting at the Canadian Open Tuesday afternoon following the surprise announcement merger of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf that blindsided many players. Many top players were not present at the meeting, which Monahan described as "intense, certainly heated," according to the Associated Press.

Michael Kim  attended  the meeting and said he was "disappointed as all of you." He tweeted, "Well… the meeting happened… Came in very excited… but not a whole lot happened, too many details still up in the air."

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PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf merger explained: What it means for Ryder Cup, Rory McIlroy and for golf's future?

The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf announced on Tuesday they are merging to form "a new collectively owned" entity; the decision comes less than two weeks before the third major championship of the men's golf season, the US Open

Wednesday 7 June 2023 17:00, UK

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The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf stunned the sporting world on Tuesday when announcing they are to form "a new collectively owned" entity. But what do we know so far about the shock merger, what does it mean for the Ryder Cup and golf's future, and how have the players reacted?

What has happened?

LIV Golf, launched in 2022, was able to lure some of golf's biggest names away from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, with players like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter among those to sign up and claim a share of the staggering sums of money being offered.

The new entity was bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) - owners of Newcastle United - and critics accused it of being a vehicle for the country to attempt to improve its reputation in the face of criticism of its human rights record.

PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf agree to stunning merger

• Reaction to shock merger between PGA Tour and LIV golf
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After over a year of disharmony between the various tours, resulting in multiple lawsuits being filed and the suspensions of numerous LIV golfers from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, Tuesday's deal hopefully signals the end of such rifts.

Key points from PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf merger

• LIV golfers who were suspended indefinitely by the PGA and DP World Tour will be able to re-apply for membership from the end of the 2023 season
• All lawsuits between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV golf will be ended
• Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which funded LIV Golf's emergence, will make a capital investment into the combined entity as part of the agreement "to facilitate its growth and success"
• A "comprehensive evaluation of LIV Golf to determine how best to integrate team golf into the professional game" will take place
• LIV Golf's 2023 schedule will continue as planned

PGA Tour commissioner Monahan, who had previously ruled out an agreement with LIV , said: "After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love."

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The decision to merge comes less than two weeks before the third major championship of the men's golf season, the US Open. For parts of 2022 and 2023, the majors were the only times LIV Golf players were included in the same field as PGA Tour and DP World Tour players.

How did the players react?

The move was announced to players in a letter from Monahan on Tuesday.

Golf reacts to shock merger

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It read: "Today is a momentous day for your organization and the game of golf as a whole.

"The PGA Tour - your Tour - is leading the formation of a new commercial entity to unify golf, one that sees the end of the disruption and distraction that has divided the men's professional game for the better part of three years."

Mickelson, who has become a de-facto spokesperson for the LIV Tour over the last year, tweeted: "Awesome news".

Awesome day today 😊 https://t.co/qUwVJiydym — Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) June 6, 2023

But some PGA Tour players, including two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, appeared to suggest they discovered the news via social media at the point it broke.

Morikawa tweeted: "I love finding out morning news on Twitter."

I love finding out morning news on Twitter — Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) June 6, 2023

Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with. — Mackenzie Hughes (@MacHughesGolf) June 6, 2023

Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right? 🤷🏻‍♂️ — Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) June 6, 2023

Was having quite the nice practice session this morning too pic.twitter.com/qWBKuM2yHO — Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 6, 2023

Sky Sports News reporter Jamie Weir said: "This is, first and foremost, a complete shock. This came out of the blue,

"I think everybody was surprised by this - I've spoken to a lot of players this afternoon and they knew nothing about this at all, so they were finding out for the first time like a lot of us by scrolling through Twitter this afternoon, finding out bits and bobs here and there."

How will the Ryder Cup be affected?

A big question to come out of the announcement of the merger is how might selection be affected for this September's Ryder Cup teams in Rome.

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley explained to Sky Sports News: "There's only two criteria to be a Ryder Cup player - you have to be European and you have to be a DP World Tour member. Those are the criteria.

"If you're not a DP World Tour member, you can't play in the Ryder Cup."

European stalwarts Garcia, Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, who was initially named team captain, all resigned from the DP World Tour in May following further sanctions on players who competed in LIV Golf events last year without permission.

Pelley said of the quartet: "They're not members. They would have to be reinstated. Maybe they will request reinstatement but we will have to see."

Weir added: "Luke Donald will still be the European Ryder Cup captain in Rome this year.

"Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, the backbone of many successful Ryder Cup teams, they will not be in Rome this year.

"Under the DP World Tour criteria, by May you need to have become a member of the DP World Tour to be eligible for the Ryder Cup team. Those guys are not eligible for the Ryder Cup team as things stand.

"That's not to say that come 2024 they might re-join the DP World Tour and they could be on the team in 2025 and Ian Poulter could be captain."

McIlroy reacts to merger: I still hate LIV

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was often at the forefront of the battle with LIV over the last two years, defending the PGA Tour.

In addressing the media for the first time since Tuesday's announcement, McIlroy said he learned of the deal "pretty much at the same time everyone else did", adding that he felt like a "sacrificial lamb".

McIlroy also said there has to be "consequences to actions" for the golfers that left the PGA Tour but believes the new merger is ultimately "good for golf".

He also maintained that despite welcoming the new entity he still "hates LIV" and he suggested that LIV Golf is not part of the new deal, adding that it's Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund that are joining as a partner.

McIlroy said: "Whether you like it or not, the PIF are going to keep spending money in golf... at least the PGA Tour now controls how that money is spent.

"One of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy? At the end of the day, money talks and you'd rather have them as a partner."

He added: "I think this is going to be good for the game of professional golf. It unifies it and it secures its financial future.

"There's mixed emotions in there as well, as there is going to be.

"At least it means that the litigation goes away, which has been a massive burden for everyone involved with the tour and playing on the tour."

Is Greg Norman still involved?

A key name absent from the press release announcing the merger was Greg Norman, LIV Golf's CEO and one of the leaders in the Saudi-backed Tour's creation.

He has been the target of a lot of criticism from those on the PGA Tour, and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan - who holds the position as chair of the newly-formed entity - told CBS he only informed Norman about the merger moments before making it public.

"I made a call just before this and of course he is a partner with us, and all the stakeholders that we have with us they had the call right before this interview," Al-Rumayyan said.

Sky Sports golf expert Dame Laura Davies said of that revelation: "It sounds like it's been a bit cloak and dagger; if Greg Norman didn't know about it, then if I was Greg Norman then I would feel like one of the losers in this deal because you would have thought he would have been at the forefront."

Weir added on Norman: "He's conspicuous by his absence in that statement.

"He's been an agent of disruption for Saudi Arabia over the past 12 months; he's ruffled a lot of feathers. There was a lot of people saying that for there to be some kind of consensus and common ground he would have to be moved to one side - it appears that might now well be the case."

Sky Sports News' Jamie Weir:

"There are a lot of unanswered questions. One of them is how will men's professional golf look next year?

"The PGA Tour have already created this new schedule for next year with designated events - how are they going to look now? There will be a DP World Tour schedule and will LIV continue in its own form?

"For the rest of this season it will continue presumably as normal but next season, will we see these 54-hole shotgun start tournaments with the Fireballs and the Majesticks? Perhaps not. All of this still needs to come out in the wash.

"What does it mean this Saudi involvement in golf? Deep in the statement, it says PIF now have first refusal on anybody else wanting to invest in the PGA Tour. Essentially now Saudi Arabia have a much larger stake in men's professional golf than they did before.

"And the big, big question is what happens with the players? The players that stayed loyal and the players who will be coming back.

"There needs to be some form of sanction for those players, I think is what a lot of the PGA Tour loyalists will feel. The players are understandably pretty aggrieved and a lot of them feel those huge sums of money they turned down, will they be recompensed for that and will there be any sanctions for these guys coming back?

"It's been a crazy 12 months for the game of golf. I don't think this is going to go away any time soon."

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PGA Tour player directors prepare for meeting with Saudi leader of LIV Golf

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan speaks during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 15, 2024, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan gestures during an interview during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 15, 2024, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts on the second green during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament Sunday, March 17, 2024, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Patrick Cantlay stands on the ninth green during the final round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, in the Pacific Palisades area of, Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Players on the PGA Tour board negotiating with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund have a meeting planned Monday with the Saudi leader backing rival LIV Golf, something Rory McIlroy said Sunday should have happened long ago.

He also said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, wants to be “productive” in golf, while Greg Norman and others involved in LIV are disruptive.

McIlroy won’t be part of the meeting, and details remained vague on where it would be held and whether it would be anything more than an ice breaker with Al-Rumayyan.

“I doubt we will get into anything substantive in the first meeting,” said Patrick Cantlay, one of six player directors on PGA Tour Enterprises, the new commercial venture that already has a minority investor in Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S. sports owners.

McIlroy gave up his seat on the board in November and was replaced by Jordan Spieth. The other four player directors are Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy met with Al-Rumayyan last year at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. In fact, he said on a British soccer podcast at the start of the year that he had a part in the PGA Tour meeting with PIF in the first place, which led to the stunning June 6 announcement of a proposed partnership.

Cantlay confirmed there were “plans to have a meeting” on Monday at an undisclosed location.

“I think it should have happened months ago, so I am glad that it’s happening,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully that progresses conversations and gets us closer to a solution.”

The solution ultimately would be patching together golf, with players like Masters champion Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, PGA champion Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau among those now with LIV and suspended from PGA Tour-sanctioned events except the four majors.

The PGA Tour’s deal with PIF was supposed to be completed by the end of last year . But with government inquiries, and interest from private equity groups, the deal wasn’t done. The tour aligned with SSG, and Rahm defected to LIV. SSG has pledged up to $3 billion, including $1.5 billion for a player equity program.

McIlroy drew a distinction between Al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf, particularly Norman, the CEO and commissioner of the rival league. McIlroy had said at the end of 2022 that Norman needed to “exit stage left” for there to be any meaningful conversations.

“I have spent time with Yasir and the people that have represented him in LIV I think have done him a disservice, so Norman and those guys,” McIlroy said Sunday at The Players Championship.

“I actually think there’s a really big disconnect between PIF and LIV,” he said. “I think you got PIF over here and LIV are sort of over here doing their own thing. So the closer that we can get to Yasir, PIF and hopefully finalize that investment, I think that will be a really good thing.”

Malnati said there was “massive resistance” to Saudi involvement because of the surprise June 6 announcement — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, with board members Ed Herlihy and Jimmy Dunne — were the only ones involved.

“As I’ve learned more, I think I understand better and I’m very open minded to learning what involvement they want, what they want out of this and how they think they can help,” Malnati said. “On the surface, I think there are players who have resistance to that relationship, for sure. So that’s why I do think it’s important that maybe our next step is to meet at some point.”

Among the potential obstacles are how to blend players when there is animosity over those who left for massive signing bonuses to join LIV, along with LIV’s desire for team golf.

Cantlay said without PIF investing in PGA Tour Enterprises, he could see golf going down a similar path of two rival leagues whose top players meet only four times a year.

“I don’t think this is an overnight solution,” McIlroy said. “But if we can get the investment in, then at least we can start working towards a compromise where we’re not going to make everyone happy, but at least make everyone understand why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

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Answering remaining questions about PGA Tour-Saudi PIF alliance

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan discusses negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. (0:48)

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- An important step toward a potential peace accord in men's professional golf will take place Monday in the Bahamas when Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, is scheduled to meet player directors of the PGA Tour's policy board, including Tiger Woods .

While the initial meeting might be nothing more than a meet-and-greet -- or a chance "to put a face to a name," as player director Adam Scott puts it -- it might be another step toward reuniting the fractured sport, which has been embroiled in controversy since the PIF helped launch the rival LIV Golf League in June 2022.

"I doubt we'll get into anything substantive in the first meeting," player director Patrick Cantlay said Sunday.

Still, there seems to be a renewed interest from both sides in getting a deal done sooner rather than later. Along with Woods, Scott and Cantlay, player directors Peter Malnati , Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth are expected to attend the meeting with PIF officials.

"I think it should have happened months ago, so I am glad that it's happening," Rory McIlroy said. "Hopefully, that progresses conversations and gets us closer to a solution."

Here's a look at where the potential PGA Tour-PIF alliance stands.

Why does the PGA Tour need to get a deal done with the PIF?

While there might not be as much urgency for the PGA Tour to strike a deal after it received a $1.5 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of billionaire sports team owners, athletes and others, getting an agreement finalized is probably the best thing for the future health of the sport -- and the tour.

The simple answer is that if the PGA Tour doesn't strike a deal with the PIF, the Saudis will keep poaching its best players. Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm is the latest star to defect, signing a contract worth more than $300 million in December.

McIlroy said he believes there's a difference between dealing with LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman and Al-Rumayyan. McIlroy said he hopes player directors hear that Al-Rumayyan "wants to do the right thing."

"I think I've said this before: I have spent time with Yasir, and the people that have represented him in LIV I think have done him a disservice, so Norman and those guys," McIlroy said. "I see the two entities, and I think there's a really big disconnect between PIF and LIV. I think you got PIF over here and LIV are sort of over here doing their own thing. So the closer that we can get to Yasir, PIF and hopefully finalize that investment, I think that will be a really good thing."

With top players like Rahm and reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and other stars now competing in the LIV Golf League, there's no debate that the tour's fields have been depleted, even at its signature events like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The Players Championship, which used to be revered for having the "strongest field in golf," even seemed watered down this year. There were 60 players ranked 100th or worse in the 144-man field at TPC Sawgrass last week, including 16 ranked 200th or higher.

"Whoever wins this golf tournament is going to have achieved the most incredible accomplishment, to win on this golf course, against this field, but it would be even better if we had Jon Rahm here," Malnati said. "I'll just say it: It would be even better. It would be an even better win."

Golf fans have apparently noticed. According to published reports, TV ratings for the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, where world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler ran away with a 5-stroke victory earlier this month, were down 30% compared to the final round in 2023. TV ratings for final-round coverage of the Genesis Invitational on Feb. 18 -- when 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama returned to the winner's circle -- were down about 5%.

Monahan said it was too early to evaluate the signature events, especially after weather disrupted three of the first four. Longtime pro Lucas Glover , a two-time winner last year, called the new model of events "selfish" and a "money grab" because the reduced fields prevent many players from competing for $20 million purses.

"You're getting the best players to play, the top guys to show up, but the fields are more competitive when you have bigger field sizes," reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland said. "I think that's just the fact. There's a reason why we're playing the Players Championship with 144 guys.

"But at the end of the day, I don't know what the fans want to watch. Do they want to watch these limited field sizes or do they want to watch the bigger sizes? I really don't know. So, yeah, I just don't know what trajectory we're on."

Why does the PIF need to strike a deal with the PGA Tour?

For all the money the PIF has spent, and all the noise it has made with its unique format that includes shotgun starts, team and individual competitions, and 54 holes, the league is still struggling to get a foothold in the U.S.

Rahm's new team created some buzz in the offseason, and the return of former Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim from a nearly 12-year hiatus garnered headlines. For the most part, however, LIV Golf's TV ratings in the U.S. haven't improved.

According to data obtained by ESPN, the final round of LIV Golf's March 1-3 tournament in Saudi Arabia averaged 208,000 viewers in the U.S. There was a seven-hour time difference, with TV coverage in the U.S. starting at 3:05 a.m. ET. The final round of the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which Austin Eckroat won for his first PGA Tour victory, averaged 1.362 million.

Former LIV Golf COO Atul Khosla told ESPN in 2022 that the PIF spent about $784 million on the new circuit in 2022, and that didn't include the hundreds of millions of dollars in signing bonuses it paid to lure golfers to the league. In court papers, PIF's lawyers wrote that LIV Golf had generated virtually no revenue in its first season.

At some point, one would expect, the PIF is going to expect some sort of a return on its investment.

McIlroy believes the PIF is interested in investing in PGA Tour Enterprises because it wants to make money.

"Look, they're a sovereign wealth fund," McIlroy said. "They want to park money for decades and not worry about it. They want to invest in smart and secure businesses, and the PGA Tour is definitely one of those, especially if they're looking to invest in sport in some way."

Will LIV golfers still be punished if they come back to the PGA Tour?

Malnati said the biggest issue on the minds of PGA Tour members might be what potential punishment, if any, LIV golfers would face if they wanted to come back to the circuit. McIlroy, even as one of the PGA Tour's most vocal supporters at the beginning of its battle with LIV, has recently changed his tune.

"I think life is about choices," McIlroy said at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. "Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here. I think it's hard to punish people. I don't think there should be a punishment."

"If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back."

The Saudis are also negotiating for a clearer path back for its players, according to sources.

However, some PGA Tour members still want their pound of flesh from players who defected to LIV Golf and signed guaranteed, multiyear contracts, some for more than $100 million. Monahan indefinitely suspended them as soon as they competed in a LIV Golf event.

"You would find opinions that run the gamut -- from guys that just have a line in the sand that say never and guys [who are more open to LIV golfers coming back]," Malnati said. "I think Rory's been pretty outspoken that he wants to see the best players playing on the PGA Tour, so we're going to have to net out somewhere in the middle."

A PGA Tour committee has been tackling the delicate issue of potential punishment for months. According to sources, there could be varying degrees of punishment, including suspensions and fines. Players who actively recruited PGA Tour players for LIV Golf (such as Phil Mickelson ) and players who sued the tour in federal court ( Matt Jones , Hudson Swafford , Talor Gooch , Bryson DeChambeau and others) could face more severe punishment than those who left (Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith , Dustin Johnson and others) and didn't criticize the tour publicly.

"That's something that we as a membership and as leaders of the membership, we need to figure that out," Malnati said. "How do we make this happen for people to come back and do it in a way that has some semblance of fairness, some semblance of [justice]? How do we do it in a way that can at least somewhat pass the sniff test and get us to a place where, when we have championships like this, we have a group of the best players?"

If LIV Golf players return to the PGA Tour, would they be eligible for the new equity program?

Malnati, who joined the policy board to represent the tour's rank-and-file players, seemed to suggest that two things would probably happen if a deal with the PIF is reached and LIV golfers are allowed back: They wouldn't return as PGA Tour members and wouldn't be recipients of the initial shares of the planned $1.5 billion equity program that PGA Tour Enterprises plans to grant past, current and future members over the next several years.

It's yet to be determined whether LIV golfers would be eligible for equity shares in the future, according to sources.

"It's going to make players owners of the tour, and guys who violated our policies aren't ever going to be eligible for that," Malnati said. "That's a big deal. Like, that's a big, big deal. So I think, if we do find a pathway for guys to come back, there will certainly be safeguards in place to protect the members of the tour who stayed here."

What happens to team golf and the LIV Golf League if a deal gets done?

Along with greasing the wheels for its golfers to return to the PGA Tour, the Saudis have also dug in their heels when it comes to LIV Golf and keeping its team format intact in some way, sources have told ESPN.

The Saudis either want team golf to be part of the PGA Tour schedule, or for the LIV Golf League to continue in its present form -- with PGA Tour stars competing. Most of the PGA Tour's best players want no part of team golf outside of the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and they don't want to play in even more tournaments.

Malnati described LIV Golf's team concept as a "very forced team model" and didn't see how it would be part of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup schedule.

"I personally don't want that, but I can always have my mind changed if I see a great idea," Malnati said. "But personally, I don't want that and I don't see a way that we do that -- that we integrate team golf within the FedEx Cup schedule. We're going to have some time to play with in the fall, I think, we're going to have some options, but I just don't know."

When would the sport be reunited?

Even if a deal is struck this spring, the PGA Tour's alliance with the PIF might not take effect until late 2025 or 2026 at the earliest. The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has opened an investigation into the PGA Tour's alleged antitrust behavior, and it wouldn't be closed simply because the former competitors are now partners. Antitrust experts previously told ESPN that a DOJ review could take as long as 18 months.

Even if a deal is finalized, that means the LIV Golf League would finish out this season, which ends at the Greenbrier Golf Club in West Virginia on Aug. 16-18, and probably play next season too.

On Tuesday, Monahan wouldn't offer a timeline, saying, "It's going to take time."

For now, the PGA Tour will ponder its own future while trying to find peace with the PIF and LIV Golf League.

"I think a lot of that is depending upon the fact of what happens to the LIV guys; do they come back eventually?" Hovland said. "I don't think it's a great outlook if we keep being divided for 10, 15 years, whatever, however long it's going to take. There has to be some kind of decision being made in the future."

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Monahan reveals PGA Tour held talks with Kim before LIV Golf decision

• Former world No 6 has not played in PGA event since 2012
• PGA Tour commissioner vague on if asked to resign

Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour’s ­commissioner, has revealed Anthony Kim rejected the option of playing his way back on to the circuit before signing with LIV Golf.

Kim, once one of the hottest young properties in the game, ­sensationally reappeared in competition last month after a 12-year break. He will feature as a wildcard on LIV for the ­remainder of this season. ­Speculation has ­surrounded whether Kim could have instead returned to the PGA Tour. Monahan has made plain the 38-year-old would have had to work up from lower tours.

“I did not have direct conversations with Anthony,” Monahan said. “Members of our team did and they very clearly laid out what it would take for him to earn his way back to the PGA Tour. I would have liked to see him compete to make his way back to the Tour. But obviously he made a different decision.”

Monahan, giving his annual media address in advance of the Players Championship, said ­“negotiations are accelerating” with Saudi ­Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. He was, however, unable or unwilling to ­provide even light detail on what elite golf’s future will look like. For now, LIV and traditional tours are ­operating in totally different spheres.

The tournament at Sawgrass this week takes place minus Jon Rahm, the Masters champion, and Brooks Koepka, who won the US PGA ­Championship last year. Monahan’s upbeat tone ­regarding the state of the PGA Tour was therefore difficult to justify.

“You’ve got 144 players ­competing in this championship and they’re the greatest players in the world,” ­Monahan said. “This is the greatest tour in the world.

“Strength comes from a number of different factors. It comes from the strength of your membership. You have Nick Dunlap and Matthieu Pavon and Jake Knapp, we consistently as an organisation regenerate talent and create stars.”

Monahan would not answer directly whether he had been asked to resign by any board member ­during a turbulent past nine months. Asked whether he felt he had the full ­backing of the membership, the commissionerhe said: “That’s a question that you’ll have to ask the players.

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“I can’t generalise as it relates to players but clearly given the responsibility I’ve been given, I have the support of our board. I am the right person to lead us forward. I know that. I believe that in my heart and I’m determined to do exactly that.”

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PGA Tour-LIV Golf Merger to Collapse? Top 3 Reasons Why Fans Should Brace for Further Disappointment

T he good news is that the player-directors of the PGA Tour will meet the PIF officials for the first time. But the not-so-good news is that even before meeting not everyone is on the same page. Neither is there any clarity on when that meeting will happen. Furthermore, one meeting is unlikely to solve the lingering issues that have divided the Tour itself.

And as if there weren’t enough reasons to believe that the merger talks would continue to drag on further, Peter Malnati just gave us one more. The sitting Tour Policy Board member spoke his mind at TPC Sawgrass, with enough hints to evince a lingering discord.

Peter Malnati would prefer to keep the PGA Tour model intact

Peter Malnati sounded off on the possibility of incorporating a team format in the current FedEx Cup schedule. “ I don’t see a way that we incorporate team golf into the FedExCup schedule. I personally don’t want that, but I can have my mind changed if I see a great idea. I don’t see a way that we integrate team golf within the FedExCup schedule. ” 

Furthermore, the 36-year-old doesn’t think the “ forced team model ” in LIV is good in itself.  “ Are there any fans that care which team won the tournament? I don’t know what fans of LIV want or care about, but are there any fans that care about who won it? ” A strange echo of what Wyndham Clark said a month back . Nevertheless, just like incorporating the team format, including LIV Golfers is a thorny matter.

PGA Tour players want LIV Golfers back, but with some ‘caveat’

Rory McIlroy , a former player-director on the board, would prefer to bring LIV Golfers back without any punishment . “ Let them come back… I don’t think there should be a punishment [for LIV players wanting to return to the PGA Tour].” But not everyone is on the same page . Pressed for his opinion on the matter, Rickie Fowler , said, “ I mean, they made decisions and there’s — there has to be something for it. how small or big, that’s not up to me .”

Even Scottie Scheffler , who has been reticent on LIV Golf until recently , disagreed. “ They definitely shouldn’t be able to come back without any sort of contribution to the Tour.” Scheffler would prefer some “ caveat . ” That would surely be a matter of discussion when the player-directors meet PIF officials sometime soon. 

Read More: LIV Golf Needs Merger to Happen Badly Than PGA Tour; Here’s Why

Player-directors will move the needle, but when?

Both Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott agreed that they would meet PIF officials at some point . But there is no existing timeframe. Spieth, who replaced Rory McIlroy on the board , said, “ I’m not sure that I can say much more other than we’re being encouraged to potentially meet with them. ” Even Scott was reluctant to divulge any further details.  Eamon Lynch of Golfweek reported that an in-person meeting might happen on Monday, a day after THE PLAYERS Championship concludes.  But, again there is no certainty on the dates.

Interestingly, Keith Pelley, the outgoing DP World Tour CEO, earlier hinted that some differences can be ironed out as soon as April. However, in a more recent chat with the Sunday Times of London, the Canadian CEO said, he would love to stay til the deal is reached but there is no guarantee how long it might take. So, golf fans are in for a long haul, unless a positive breakthrough is reached on Monday.

Read More: Tiger Woods: The Biggest Hurdle Between LIV Golfers & Their PGA Tour Comeback Dream; Explored

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