Following a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the PGA Tour reported “progress” as negotiations “continue to accelerate.”
Even though he was competing remotely at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, Rory McIlroy was still involved in discussions.
An initial “framework agreement” between the PGA Tour, which funds the breakaway LIV Golf league, the PIF, and the DP World Tour was announced on June 6, 2013, with a deadline of December 31, but it was later extended.
During February, the US-based PGA Visit circuit got a venture manage Key Games Gathering (SSG), which would see its players benefit from value of more than £1.1bn and furthermore considers a future “co-speculation” from the PIF.
On Friday, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF, and his team from the PGA Tour subcommittee met in person in New York.
McIlroy, who quit the PGA Tour board in November, joined from a distance.
The PGA Visit expressed “talks between the different sides keep on speeding up”, without giving any further subtleties.
A joint statement from the seven-member PGA Tour subcommittee, which also includes player representatives for Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, and McIlroy, read, “Representatives from the PGA Tour Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee and the PIF have been meeting multiple times weekly to work through potential deal terms and come to a shared vision on the future of professional golf.”
McIlroy is also a member of the subcommittee.
“We remain committed to these negotiations, which necessitate navigating intricate issues in order to best position golf for global expansion.
We need to get this right, and we are moving toward conversations with cautious thought for our players, our fans, our accomplices and the game’s future.”
