The PGA Tour and LIV Golf appear no closer to finalizing their deal.
Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was asked Wednesday about negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which kicks off the FedEx Cup playoffs, and he didn’t provide many details. Although the initial self-imposed deadline for a deal has passed by more than eight months, things are “going well.”
“These are very complicated discussions,” Monahan said Wednesday from TPC Southwind, “There are a lot of elements that go into them. When you have that level of interaction, and we continue to meet and move forward and discuss and debate, you can only be optimistic.
“As for the deadlines and the current situation, I will simply say that we are in a good phase of discussion. That is the most important thing.”
However, the Tour released its schedule for the 2025 season on Wednesday and did not include LIV Golf at all — which Monahan said was a sign that the two leagues would continue to operate separately next season.
Monahan surprised the golf world last season by announcing that the Tour would form a partnership with LIV Golf after years of battling them. The two sides reached a “framework agreement,” but nothing was finalized. A deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, had been set, but the two clubs passed that date without reaching an agreement.
The tour has since formed a “transactions subcommittee” to focus on day-to-day negotiations with the PIF. Monahan and several players — including Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods — are on that committee, which reports to the policy committee.
While the release of the Tour schedule and Monahan’s comments on Wednesday don’t mean a deal won’t be reached, it appears the two sides are still a long way from any finalized agreement.
“It’s definitely calmer … there hasn’t been as much chatter the last few months, which is nice,” Tour board member Patrick Cantlay said Tuesday in Memphis. “I think that’s just the nature of things. There’s going to be ups and downs, depending on what kind of information comes out or what announcements are made.”
“When they say the end is in sight, it’s constantly evolving. The PGA Tour has always been changing and trying to evolve and improve. It depends on what you define as the finish line. But I know we’re all working incredibly hard all the time to get the best possible outcome.”
LIV Golf is hosting its West Virginia tournament this weekend. Two events are scheduled in September to close out the 2024 season. The top 50 in the Tour standings after this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship will advance to the BMW Championship next week. Then, the top 30 golfers will head to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta to end the season.
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