With the year’s first major upcoming, it appears golf’s civil war is no closer to ending.
Both the Guardian and ESPN reported that the PGA Tour earlier this week rejected the latest proposal from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
The proposal from the PIF, according to reports, would have seen the Saudis invest $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises while allowing LIV to continue in its current form and elevate PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan to co-chairman of the Tour’s new for-profit arm. Currently, Joe Gorder, the former CEO of Valero, serves as chairman of the Enterprises board, while Tiger Woods is the vice chairman.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan reiterated last month that the Tour’s goal is to get both Tour players and LIV’s best to compete again on one unified circuit but that it won’t compromise its product just to complete a deal. One of the main sticking points in the negotiations, which have been ongoing since June 2023, has been how to incorporate team golf into the Tour schedule.
Both sides sat with President Donald Trump in the White House on Feb. 20 but no deal was reached after a four-hour meeting. Monahan said last month at The Players that there was no future meetings on the books.
Trump is attending this week’s LIV event at Doral resort in Miami, which he owns. On Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said his preference remains for the two circuits to merge.
“Ultimately, hopefully, the two tours are going to merge. That’ll be good,” Trump told reporters. “But hopefully we’re going to get the two tours to merge. You have the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour. And I think having them merge would be a great thing.”
