Members of the PGA Tour Enterprises board, including CEO Jay Monahan and all six player directors (Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati), were in The Bahamas on Monday for a meeting Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. In a memo to PGA Tour membership, obtained by ESPN, Monahan noted the conversation was “constructive” as the two sides advance negotiations to shape the future landscape of professional golf.
For many of the player directors, this was the first-in person meeting they’ve attended with the head of the sovereign wealth fund that backs LIV Golf. Monahan confirmed at the Players Championship that he had traveled to Saudi Arabia in January to meet with Al-Rumayyan.
“As you may know, your PGA Tour Enterprise Player Directors joined me today in a meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF),” Monahan wrote in the memo. “The conversation throughout was constructive and represents an important part of our due diligence process in selecting potential investors for PGA Tour Enterprises. This mirrors the approach we employed earlier this year as we evaluated an investment offer from the Strategic Sports Group.
“During the session, Yasir had the chance to introduce himself to our Player Directors and talk through his vision, priorities and motivations for investing in professional golf,” Monahan continued. “As we continue these discussions with the PIF, we will keep you updated as much as possible, but please understand that we need to maintain our position of not conducting negotiations in public. To that end, we will provide no further comments to the media at this time.”
Flight tracking accounts, such as Radar Atlas, pinpointed planes belonging to the PGA Tour, Saudi PIF and Woods in Albany, Bahamas. It was also deduced that John Henry, member of the PGA Tour Enterprises board and Fenway Sports Group, was also in attendance.
The Strategic Sports Group — which is spearheaded by Henry’s FSG — and the PGA Tour agreed to a deal in January to create PGA Tour Enterprises. The new for-profit arm of the PGA Tour was injected with up to $3 billion from SSG and created an equity program for players.
This left many wondering what the PIF’s role would be in this venture. The PGA Tour announced it would continue its negotiations with the PIF, while players such as Spieth suggested the wealth fund would not be needed in the near future given the PGA Tour’s recent influx of capital.
“I think I’ve said this before, I have spent time with Yasir and his — the people that have represented him in LIV I think have done him a disservice, so [Greg] Norman and those guys,” Rory McIlroy said following the final round of the Players Championship. “I see the two entities, and I think there’s a big, I actually think there’s a really big disconnect between PIF and LIV. I think you got PIF over here and LIV are sort of over here doing their own thing. So, the closer that we can get to Yasir, PIF and hopefully finalize that investment, I think that will be a really good thing.”
Few details of Monday’s meeting have emerged, but it’s no secret the questions that need to be answered. How much is the PIF willing to invest if the two sides come together? Is team golf here to stay? What is the pathway back to the PGA Tour for those players currently on LIV Golf?