This week, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Tiger Woods, and other player directors from the tour’s policy board met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to discuss a potential deal that could work to unify professional golf. But most importantly, would protect the PGA Tour from losing more of its star players.
As Mark Schlabach of ESPN points out, the PGA Tour might not be in desperate need of funding particularly after it received a large investment from Strategic Sports Group, it needs to work out a deal with the Public Investment Fund – which backs LIV Golf – to prevent LIV from continuing to poach its top talent.
“While there might not be as much urgency for the PGA Tour to strike a deal after it received a $1.5 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of billionaire sports team owners, athletes and others, getting an agreement finalized is probably the best thing for the future health of the sport — and the tour,” Schlabach wrote for ESPN.
“The simple answer is that if the PGA Tour doesn’t strike a deal with the PIF, the Saudis will keep poaching its best players. Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm is the latest star to defect, signing a contract worth more than $300 million in December.”
So even if the PGA Tour has a strong financial backing already, it’s still in its best interest to partner with the PIF.
