After nearly two years of waiting, there appeared to be signs in recent weeks that a deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF was edging closer, with Tiger Woods amongst those who seemed noticeably confident about agreeing terms.
Golf fans have been expecting a resolution ever since the framework agreement shocked the game in June 2023. There have been plenty of false dawns along the way, including reports in November 2024 which claimed that the PIF were set to buy a stake in the PGA Tour.
However, the tides appeared to turn following Donald Trump‘s victory in the Presidential election. And there has indeed been reason for encouragement for those who want to see the game come back together.
Tiger Woods confirmed that he is optimistic that a deal is close at the Genesis Invitational. And there were subsequently reports that LIV Golf stars could feature at the Players Championship – despite the breakaway league having their own event in Singapore that week.
The sticking point in talks between the PGA Tour and the PIF
However, last week’s meeting at the White House may not have been successful as some would have hoped. Obviously, little has been announced following the discussions.
And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard suggested that there are still thought to be plenty of hurdles for the two sides to clear before the game really comes back together.
“There was someone else there who probably makes this a bigger deal. That was Yasir Al-Rumayyan, he is the governor of the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia. He wasn’t in the original meeting on February 4th when the President met with representatives of the PGA Tour. I have a friend who was the undersecretary for FEMA years and years ago and he actually texted me late in the afternoon on Thursday. He said no-one ever meets with the President of the United States for four hours. At tops you get 15 minutes. As you can imagine, the leader of the free world has a lot on his plate and there is a lot going on. So the idea that he dedicated four plus hours to fix professional golf is surreal to the extreme and also shows you where these negotiations are,” he said.
“I think the idea going into Thursday was that they could walk out of the Oval Office with an agreement at least in principle was the understanding. There could have been a photo opportunity on the East Lawn with everyone smiling and we finally are a step closer to some sort of resolution. So the idea that we didn’t get there gives you an idea that there is still some serious sticking points and my understanding is can team golf be profitable? This boils down to the basic of terms. This is all about finances at this point.
“The idea that the tour has already taken on $1.5 billion of investment and then whatever and if there is a PIF deal you would think somewhere close to that, so now it has taken on $3 billion essentially in debt and you need to find a way to make this product, which is not profitable yet – and I’m not saying that team golf cannot be profitable or LIV Golf is a bad idea – it just isn’t yet. The idea that somehow they are going to make all that work seems to be one of the big sticking points. As we have talked about before the financial element of this should be the easier side. The standard has been set, the market is there, we know what SSG invested and what percentage that is. If you just take the DOJ out of it, which I think it’s safe to assume that these meetings with the President take the DOJ out of the equation, that there is the market. So where this is getting hung up is what these two tours are going to look like. What have you been doing since June 2023 is the question that I think fans are going to have.”
Why agreeing a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is so difficult
It has been apparent for some time that agreeing what the golfing landscape will look like is going to be one of the biggest issues for the respective tours.
The PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour all need to compromise while also feeling like they have emerged with a good amount from the deal. And clearly, the compromises are going to need to be significant, particularly if they are determined to bring the best players back together.
The PGA Tour has the history, but the PIF obviously has the kind of funds which gives them real leverage in talks. And having upset many players with the framework agreement, the PGA Tour is not in the strongest position to demand loyalty should they walk away from the table.
There is also the fact that players such as Rory McIlroy feel they have benefitted from LIV Golf starting up. So getting some of those players at the top of the game to compromise – perhaps agreeing to play outside the United States much more frequently – may not be easy.
Clearly, there are going to be many players who are unhappy with the agreement which eventually comes to fruition.
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