LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | Even as a cold, gray drizzle soaked Torrey Pines Wednesday, with more rain in the Thursday forecast for the start of the relocated Genesis Invitational, there was a growing sense of light regarding a potential deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
If the details have been agreed upon, no one is sharing those yet but just days after commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott met with President Donald Trump to discuss the state of the prolonged negotiations, it was easy to believe genuine progress has been made.
“Everything is moving forward with pace and I think there’s a general – when you look at all the parties involved, there’s a general enthusiasm for getting this done,” Monahan said.
Exactly what a deal would look like remains to be seen but one word – reunification – was mentioned by both Monahan and Rory McIlroy, sparking speculation that the painfully slow process is gathering momentum.
“Whatever’s happened has happened and it’s been unfortunate, but reunification, how we all come back together and move forward, that’s the best thing for everyone,” said McIlroy.
Easier said than done, obviously.
Nevertheless, as Monahan stood and talked with a group of reporters Wednesday afternoon, it was easy to sense that something is brewing. As he took questions, Monahan seemed like he wanted to say more but stopped short of offering details.
Asked to elaborate on the meeting with Trump, Monahan expanded on a recent tour statement in which he said the goal was to reunite professional golf while updating the president on where negotiations stand.
“What it means is the reunification of the game, which is what we have been and are focused on. Candidly, that’s what fans want. So when you talk about reunification, that’s all the best players in the world competing with each other and against each other,” Monahan said.
Monahan and Scott met with Trump in the White House on Feb. 4 at the request of the commissioner.
It has been no secret that the tour leadership has believed that Trump could help any potential deal move through the Department of Justice, alleviating antitrust concerns, one of the biggest hurdles in reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund.
“So the president, he can do a lot of things. He has direct access to Yasir’s boss. Not many people have that. Not many people can say, ‘I want you to get this deal done and by the way, I’m speaking to your boss, I’m going to tell him the same thing.’” – Rory McIlroy
Monahan said the president, despite three Trump properties having hosted LIV Golf events in recent years, wants to see professional golf brought back together.
“Number one, you look at his passion for the game, his knowledge and understanding of the game, he’s very familiar with the PGA Tour, he’s very familiar with the team at the Public Investment Fund,” Monahan said.
“Like us, he has a very clear picture of what should happen and he wants to help. The game means that much to him. And he’s the ultimate dealmaker, so having him in the mix is a great thing for the game.”
McIlroy played golf with Trump in early January and believes his involvement can help bring about a resolution, pointing to the working relationship between PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“So the president, he can do a lot of things. He has direct access to Yasir’s boss. Not many people have that. Not many people can say, ‘I want you to get this deal done and by the way, I’m speaking to your boss, I’m going to tell him the same thing.’ There’s a few things that he can do. He can be influential,” McIlroy said.
Trump, McIlroy said, also prefers the PGA Tour to the new league despite his ties to the league.
“I learnt that he’s not a fan of the LIV format. I was like, but you’ve hosted their events. He was like, yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it. So I think he’s on the tour’s side,” McIlroy said.
Meanwhile, half a world away at the LIV event in Adelaide, Australia, new CEO Scott O’Neil talked optimistically about the potential impact of the league’s new television deals while acknowledging the likelihood of a deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF.
“For us at LIV, we are hoping that that unlocks opportunity,” O’Neil said.
“I’m excited about the agreement. I think that right now we are going to the moon and back, and I hope that’ll help as an accelerant, but I’m very confident in where we are in this business and the interest we have currently.”
It has been 19 months since Monahan and Al-Rumayyan stunned the golf world by announcing a framework agreement to mend the fracture within the game that resulted from LIV Golf’s creation. Since then, the tour has created its for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises with an initial $1.5 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group but has appeared to make little outward progress with the PIF.
“When you’re trying to solve for what we’re trying to solve for, it’s massively complex. So I never underestimated that part of it,” Monahan said.
“What’s important as it relates to time is getting things right. Something could have happened earlier but it might not have been right. I feel a lot stronger and a lot more confident that ultimately we’re getting this right.”