PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan updated the media on the status of negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to unify men’s professional golf during his opening remarks. In short, talks continue to drag on. Then he spent the rest of his annual State of the Tour press conference deflecting 16 questions pertaining to a potential deal and refusing to provide any specifics.
“The talks are real, they’re substantial, and they’re being driven at the top levels of both organizations. Those talks have been significantly bolstered by President Trump’s willingness to serve as a facilitator. President Trump is a lifelong golf fan. He believes strongly in the game’s power and potential, and he has been exceedingly generous with his time and influence to help bring a deal together,” Monahan said on Tuesday. “He wants to see the game reunified. We want to see the game reunified. His involvement has made the prospect of reunification very real.
“We appreciate Yasir’s innovative vision, and we can see a future where we welcome him on to our board and work together to move the global game forward. As part of our negotiations, we believe there’s room to integrate important aspects of LIV Golf into the PGA Tour platform. We’re doing everything that we can to bring the two sides together.”
President Trump has participated in two meetings since he took office, the most recent of which took place on Feb. 20. It has been rumored that the last meeting didn’t go swimmingly, otherwise it could’ve been a very different press conference. Monahan confirmed that a meeting to continue discussions isn’t currently scheduled at this time. He noted hurdles still exist to a deal, and on multiple occasions pointed out that the Tour wouldn’t make a deal that “diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners.”
“So while we’ve removed some hurdles, others remain. But like our fans, we still share the same sense of urgency to get to a resolution,” he said. “Our team is fully committed to reunification. The only deal that we would regret is one that compromises the essence of what makes the game of golf and the PGA Tour so exceptional.”
The Tour and PIF announced a framework agreement in June 2023 with a deadline to make a deal by the end of the year. Monahan stated that there is no deadline in place for a deal to get done.
“It’s just not that simple,” Monahan said. “When you’re in the middle of these negotiations and they’re as complex as they are, you know, the reason I say ‘urgency’ is that that’s what we’re operating with, but there isn’t a concrete deadline that’s been established.”
Monahan also hinted that progress made during the initial meeting may have stalled when they reconvened in Washington D.C.
“When you’re in the midst of complex negotiations, particularly when you may be near a breakthrough, there are ebbs and flows in the discussion. The most important thing is the mutual respect that we’ve built over the last couple of years,” he said.
Monahan has changed his tune drastically from the days when he sat in the same room and said the Tour wouldn’t give any consideration to LIV Golf.
“Over the last three years, it’s undeniable that the PGA Tour has been pressure tested like never before. External forces created an environment where we had to speed up where we always needed and wanted to go,” he said. “But it’s the internal forces, and by that I’m talking about our players, that allowed us to take extraordinary steps to embrace the challenge and reimagine the future of the PGA Tour and the game. The level of commitment and engagement from our players, not just as part of the change but as developers and leaders of the change, has made all the difference. Bottom line, we’re better for it. Disruption has generated momentum, growth and real action.”
More than half of the 30 questions addressed the reunification negotiations and Monahan did his best at tap dancing around the fact that he had little meat he was willing or able to share.
Monahan has changed his tune drastically from the days when he sat in the same room and said the Tour wouldn’t give any consideration to LIV Golf.
“I think I’ve shared our position today. I’ve shared it in the past. I think at this point I don’t have any additional information to share beyond,” he said. “There will be a day when we can specifically talk about the end result and how that’s been addressed hopefully, but right now I’ve given you exactly what our focus areas are.”
When one media member took the questioning in another direction and asked Monahan about the five-year anniversary of COVID-19 shutting down the Players Championship, he replied, “Listen, I shared our priorities – no, I’m just kidding.”
Even Monahan cracked fun at how little he was willing to say.
Source: Golfweek
