The current state of men’s professional golf is uncertain at best. A variety of signals are emerging and multiplying daily about the negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, and not all of them point to a happy ending.
While some authoritative voices speak with optimism, others do not share the same tone. In fact, it is already being said that competing egos have replaced competing economic interests in delaying a final agreement.
“Ego, misunderstanding, selfishness,” said an anonymous source to Golf Digest. “It’s a stupid game of chicken.”
That is not the image PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has projected as he’s addressed the issue in recent weeks. After meeting with President Donald Trump and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rimayyan in February, Monahan claimed that talks have received an important boost.
“The talks are real, they’re substantial and they’re being driven at the top levels of both organisations,” Monahan said according to Sky Sports. “Those talks have been significantly bolstered by President Trump’s willingness to serve as a facilitator.”
However, Golf Digest’s Joel Beall said in a recent article that Trump’s intervention in the process has become an advantage for the PGA Tour. Recently, it has emerged that the American circuit plans to return to one of the president’s properties that has hosted tournaments in the past, Trump National Doral.
“Sources familiar with the tour’s calculus further reveal that Trump’s ambitions extend beyond regular tour events,” Beall wrote, “he remains fixated on securing a major championship at one of his properties, a dream whose feasibility hinges entirely on garnering support from America’s golf establishment.”
“This reality gives the PGA Tour significant leverage in the ongoing power struggle, as tour officials can help make Trump’s golf aspirations come true.”
The bells on the other side of the bargaining table are not so rosy either. Beall himself quoted two other unnamed sources as saying that Al-Rumayyan characterized the PGA Tour’s final deal proposal as “not merely inadequate but disrespectful.”
It is very hard to come back from something like that.
Asked Adam Scott the coolest thing about his White House experience and his answer did not disappoint pic.twitter.com/8vlnl5F5hG
— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) March 11, 2025
As if it wasn’t enough, not only anonymous sources have cast doubt on the current state of the negotiations. Adam Scott, who was present at the White House meeting, said a few days ago that an agreement might not even be reached.
“The TOUR’s being very careful and respectful of everyone and wanting to give everyone, the golf fans and the media and the players, the product that they want,” he said ahead of The Players Championship.
“But we’re starting from two different sides of this, so I think it’s hard to find the balance that’s acceptable for everybody. And it also may not be ultimately possible.”
At this point, the best that can be predicted is a scenario in which the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to function as they have. A realistic hope would be that they can find a way to coexist peacefully, and that the best players on each circuit can compete against each other in some way, outside of the major championships.
But not much more.
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