Will the PGA Tour, PIF make a deal? A year later it's still uncertain (2024)

It’s been one year since the shocking announcement of a framework agreement between the PGA Tour and PIF (the owners of LIV Golf), the monumental deal that ended litigation between the competing men’s pro golf tours and proposed a new business entity with the Saudis potentially investing billions into what has become PGA Tour Enterprises.

It was far from an actual deal, though. It was, in actuality, an agreement to stop the lawsuits and simply negotiate in good faith.

In the past year, deadlines have been extended. The United States government held an inquiry into the potential union. Players have taken on power. Key figures on June 6, 2023 have either stepped down or seen their influence wane. A new investment group, led by American sport owners, emerged. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan went from the man with the most power to players calling for his resignation to firmly back in control. All while players like Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth have taken on powerful roles. Still, few seem to know where any of this is heading.

So where are we a year on from the June 6 bombshell? Let’s try to cut through the noise and explain where things stand.

The change in power

A “PGA Tour policy board” may mean nothing to you. It shouldn’t. But know the policy board decides almost everything for the PGA Tour. And there’s no better way to begin to detail the chaotic past year than the shuffling of seats on the board.

A year ago, investment banking legend Jimmy Dunne, popular with players for his willingness to connect them with the corporate world, was the key outside force on the board. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy was balancing being one of golf’s biggest superstars and the most powerful among the five player-directors on the board. He was the PGA Tour’s most effective communicator, repeatedly denouncing LIV.

Well, when the June 6 announcement happened, it sent the golf world into a tizzy. For starters, it was all done in complete secrecy, so on a tour where the players are also essentially the owners, they had no say. Additionally, players who spent the past year turning down massive sums of money from the Saudis and defending the tour were livid that the tour just legitimized LIV and they still didn’t get the payday. Monahan and Dunne, the former secretly deputizing the latter to initiate talks with PIF, went from the leaders to the bad guys in many players’ eyes.

The players wanted more of a say. They wanted more voting power, insisting on an extra voting seat to be added specifically for Woods. They also campaigned to add former tour player turned investment banker Joe Ogilvie as “liaison director.” Suddenly the players were not just more engaged — they had voting power.

The narrative became that the Cantlay camp fought for more money for the biggest stars, while McIlroy’s side wanted the money spread throughout the tour, among other disagreements like any potential return for LIV players and a more global golf tour. Eventually, McIlroy resigned from the board. Spieth, who reportedly sides with Cantlay and Woods, took McIlroy’s spot.

Since then, McIlroy has dramatically softened his stance on LIV and campaigned for the sport to unify and bring the best players together. He’s even criticized comments from board members like Spieth and Cantlay publicly. So when board member Webb Simpson (aligned with McIlroy) asked to resign in April and have McIlroy take his place, the powers that be rejected that move. Whether it was vendetta or procedure, the impact was the same — McIlroy was instead added to the PGA Tour Enterprises transaction subcommittee that negotiates with LIV.

Within 12 days of McIlroy’s failed return, two more board members in favor of a deal with PIF resigned, Dunne and investment banker Mark Flaherty. Dunne cited players taking control of board voting and “no meaningful progress” toward a deal with PIF.

“I think things are, unfortunately, put in a really bad light right now,” Spieth said last month, “and I think things are actually in a really, really good place, based on what I know, which is quite a lot in this situation.”

LIV did not stop

When the June 6th announcement happened, it was argued the PGA Tour and Monahan had the power. PIF would invest billions into the newly created PGA Tour Enterprises and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan would be chairman and get a seat on the policy board, but Monahan would be CEO of the new venture and have control over LIV’s future. That was met with skepticism, as many argued the man with the money actually controls things, but it was sold as PIF just wanted a seat at the table in professional golf and everyone got what they wanted.

By the fall, there was little actual movement toward a deal and the PGA Tour had made it clear it was actually seeking other investment opportunities — more on that in a second. There was deserved doubt of anything happening by the original Dec. 31 deadline. So in late November, it was major news when rumors circulated about LIV negotiating with the reigning Masters champ, Jon Rahm. He was widely considered the first or second-best player in the world, and many wondered if LIV pursuing Rahm was to put pressure on the PGA Tour. Rahm admitted months later he thought signing, for hundreds of millions of dollars, would expedite negotiations and bring the sport back together.

No such thing has happened yet. No deal was done by Dec. 31, and both sides agreed to extend the deadline. LIV has continued to add executives in recent weeks with new hires from Pepsi and the Philadelphia 76ers while adding office spaces in New York and London.

PGA Tour added new investors

If Rahm was LIV’s key bargaining chip, the PGA Tour’s leverage was to add outside investment. On Jan. 31, the tour officially launched PGA Tour Enterprises backed by a $3 billion commitment from Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of major investors in professional sports like John Henry, Arthur Blank and Steve Cohen, among others. The deal made players actual owners in the sport, with $750 million in equity distributed to contributing players (past and present) based on value added to the tour.

The challenge of this investment was understanding if it signaled a move toward a deal or the tour ensuring it didn’t “need” the Saudis. Some argued it was the tour pushing PIF out. Others argued private equity investment expects a return and those investors would want a deal unifying the sport. SSG investors have not spoken publicly to provide transparency but Ogilvie told Golfweek that he believes SSG “committed with the hope that there would be another investor.”

Spieth was asked his thoughts on needing PIF the week before the announcement and said, “I don’t think it’s needed. The idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it’s operating right now without anything else, with the option of other investors.”

A week later, SSG investors and PGA Tour representatives reportedly traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with Al-Rumayyan. In March, the parties (including players on the policy board) met again at Woods’ home in the Bahamas. Members involved said it was more of a pleasant, well-intentioned greeting and no major movement happened toward a deal.

What about Jay Monahan?

As recently as December, board members asked Monahan to resign from his place as PGA Tour commissioner. He completely lost the players’ trust after the June 6 announcement, and after Rahm left it appeared he was losing more and more control of the situation.

Then, with allies like Dunne and Flaherty leaving and the possibility of another board member Ed Herlihy departing when his term is up this fall, it was reasonable to wonder if Monahan was on his way out. McIlroy and Justin Thomas defended Monahan, while others like Xander Schauffele admitted Monahan has “a long way to go.” The tricky thing with Monahan is people have always said he’s great one-on-one and great with sponsors and investors. It’s just on the big stages and podiums that he appears so unconvincing.

So where does this leave a deal?

It’s never felt more unclear. The answer might really be that both sides are preparing for the possibility of no deal while simultaneously hoping to get one done.

From the outside looking in, it appears there’s been very little movement and many of the key figures in favor of a deal have been marginalized. Others argue that there’s far more happening than people know and it’s just going to take time to figure out what this future looks like.

There are hang-ups, like the possibility of a “global tour” and the future of LIV. Different possibilities from “AFC-NFC” style crossover tournaments to an elevated Champions League-like tour across the world have been suggested. Taking the sport to a more global place has been a key focus for LIV, and McIlroy is a fan of that path. Many on the PGA Tour side are reluctant to commit to that sort of schedule, preferring the United States-centric series. Also, there’s the conversation of whether or not to invite LIV defectors back to PGA Tour events, and some factions on tour are adamantly against it.

Any deal would also require government oversight. Sports Business Journal reported earlier this year that Department of Justice approval could take more than a year, making any sort of unification years away.

There’s far more that we don’t know than we do, with most key figures sticking to generalities and vague sentiments about hoping a deal gets done. We do not truly know what might happen with the DOJ. We don’t really know who wants a deal and who doesn’t. It’s all a game of sorting through clues and attempting to create meaning.

(Top photo of Jon Rahm, left, and Jay Monahan: Mark Brake, Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

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