There are still many unknowns around the future of golf, a sport in which its great stars are distributed mainly between two large circuits, the PGA Tour and the Liv Golf. The first, the American, maintained his hegemony for years until the sudden irruption of the second, promoted by the capital of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. Since the irruption of Tiger Woods, the PGA no longer found ‘rival’ in the European circuit, but in 2022 a new and strong competitor came into play, with another approach and a lot of money to sign and reward.
After a start of the relationship full of demands, in June 2023, the PGA, DP World Tour and the PIF announced that they left all struggle in the courts to coordinate a future together. In January 2024, just in case, the PGA was strengthened with the entrance to its capital of Strategic Sports Group (SSG), who would injject up to 3,000 million dollars (1,500 initials) in PGA Tour Enterprises, the new entity born of that agreement .
The Trump effect
The arrival of Donald Trump to the White House, has vigorously reactivated these negotiations, which cannot take their next step as long as the approval of the Department of Justice does not reach this merger. In a matter of days, Trump has been seen with the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monaham, and with the Adam Scott players (representative of them), Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy. In addition, he has a direct thread with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, whom he has even seen in an UFC evening.
Monahan himself wanted to update the agreement of the agreement during the previous invitational genesis, which this year moves to Torrey Pines due to the fires that the angels whipped and that prevent the event from taking place in Riviera. The commissioner commented that the meeting with the president was a “productive visit”, while stating that the goal is “that the golf works under a single circuit with all the best players playing in that single circuit.” When asked if that meant the end of Liv Golf, Monahan referred to the “golf reunification.”
When talking about reunification, it is that all the best players in the world compete with each other
Jay Monahan (PGA Commissioner)
“Honestly, that is what fans want,” said Monahan, who added: “When talking about reunification, it is that all the best players in the world compete with each other.” “If you think about what fans want, what they want is reunification. That is what we are focused, ”he added. The leader, praised ‘his product’, but he knows that there will be changes: “We have operated in a world in which there is more than one circuit and the PGA Tour has had a very good performance, but in the long term, is that the best For fans? Is it the best for this sport? We are trying to solve it so that everyone benefits. ”
The agreement? Everything advances at a good pace and I think there is a general enthusiasm to specify this
Jay Monahan (PGA Commissioner)
Finally, and not least, another great question was treated. On how close the agreement is closing, Monahan did not get wet: “I don’t think it’s close to realizing until it is completed. I would say this: everything advances at a good pace and I think there is a general enthusiasm to specify this. ”