Monahan preaches patience on deal with LIV's Saudi backers

ATLANTA (AP) — Commissioner Jay Monahan spent 20 minutes Wednesday talking about momentum from a $1.5 billion private equity investment in the PGA Tour at the start of the year. When it came to an investment deal with Saudi backers of LIV Golf, he preached patience.

Monahan said a deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia remains a priority, though he said there was no deadline.

“I don't think we want to restrict ourselves in that way,” Monahan said at the season-ending Tour Championship. “We want to achieve the best and right outcome at the right time.”

It was a stark contrast to a year ago at East Lake. Monahan agreed to a stunning deal with PIF on June 6, 2023, to create a commercial arm called PGA Tour Enterprises. The deadline for that deal was the end of year.

Monahan said last year, “As I sit here today, I am confident that we will reach an agreement that achieves a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and our fans — I see it and I’m certain of it.”

So much has changed since then.

The Justice Department asked that an anti-poaching clause be removed from the framework agreement in July. Jon Rahm defected to LIV Golf for Saudi riches in December. And the tour signed on Strategic Sports Group in January for an investment worth as much as $3 billion, which included a first-of-its-kind equity program for players.

“When you look at where we are today and ... what we hear from fans and what we’re hearing from players, ultimately we’re both in a position to bring the best players in the world back together. I think that’s a good and aspirational goal,” Monahan said. “As I said earlier, we're in those discussions. We're at the table. They're complex, and it's going to take time.”

In the meantime, the PGA Tour is wrapping up its first season of eight $20 million signature events, which still produced roughly the same turnover of players who reached the postseason. The tour has announced a similar schedule for 2025, and Monahan made it sound as though that would be the blueprint for the immediate future.

And it still doesn't include players at LIV, some of whom might fall out of the 54-man league depending on the contracts they signed.

There is a road back, although it is a long one.

Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour president, confirmed that players competing on LIV Golf will have to wait one year from their last competition to be eligible for the PGA Tour provided they were never members.

Laurie Canter of England, who is in good shape to earn a PGA Tour card if he stays in the top 10 on the European tour, played as an alternate at LIV Golf Las Vegas in February. He would not be eligible until Feb. 11.

“Players who were members of the tour also have all of our tournament regulations and conduct policies applying to them,” Dennis said. “I’m not going to get into details about that, but there’s an additional set of guidelines there to consider.”

Monahan was asked about a path back for LIV players and chose to look at some of the younger players who have emerged this year, such as Robert MacIntyre and Matthieu Pavon through the European tour and Ludvig Aberg through the PGA Tour University program.

Another was Nick Dunlap, the U.S. Amateur champion who won The American Express in January, turned pro and won in July and advanced to the second stage of the postseason.

“The system that we have, which extends to the international tours around the world, is really performing at a really high level, and that’s what we’re excited about,” Monahan said.

As for a PIF deal, Monahan said the priority to get it done is still there, without offering details or being willing to discuss any negotiations publicly.

“I think when you get into productive conversations, that enhances the likelihood of positive outcomes, and that enhances the spirit of those very conversations,” Monahan said. “I think that's where things stand.”

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