ATLANTA – For 20 uninterrupted and well-written minutes, Jay Monahan outlined the future of the PGA Tour.
With surprising ease, he explained the principles that are driving the tour’s path forward – commitment, dynamism and innovation. EMI for short? Probably not, but during the Commissioner’s annual State of the Tour press conference at East Lake Golf Club, it became clear that the future of the tour is being forged within this framework.
Unspoken, but equally clear, was how or if Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and LIV Golf fit into this framework. “We are finally sitting together at the negotiating table and actively engaging with the Public Investment Fund. We remain confident that this will happen,” Monahan said.
Just 20 words to describe what many consider the most pressing issue facing professional golf right now. By comparison, Monahan needs 128 words to describe the impact of “influencers” on the game and how “overwhelming” Wednesday’s Creator Classic was at East Lake.
Frankly, the Commissioner is in an impossible position. As he has said countless times, he cannot and will not publicly negotiate a deal with the PIF. And Monahan cannot give the slightest indication that he is not negotiating in good faith.
However, there was no mention in that 20-minute opening speech of how the game might be brought back together. Monahan did not explain what the path back to the tour might look like for the players who joined LIV Golf or how team golf might be integrated into the tour product.
These are all urgent questions that – just as they were a year ago when the Tour and the PIF announced the framework agreement – have still not been answered.
Monahan answered many questions about the negotiations. For example, how could a player who joined LIV Golf be allowed to return to the tour? The answer, however, was not very clear. According to Tyler Dennis, the tour’s chief competition official, a player who was never a member of the tour would have a “one-year waiting period” before being able to compete, while a former member would have “an additional set of guidelines to consider” before being welcomed back.
The commissioner was also asked point blank whether an agreement with PIF was necessary after the Tour switched to a for-profit model earlier this year and the Strategic Sports Group initially invested $1.5 billion.
PGA Tour “is shaped by SSG”
Rex Hoggard and Todd Lewis share their insights from PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s press conference, including ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
“What we’re hearing from fans and players shows that we both have the ability to ultimately bring the best players in the world back together. I think that’s a good and ambitious goal,” Monahan said. “We’re at the negotiating table. They’re complex and it’s going to take time.”
“I think it’s the right time to have these conversations, and it’s not just the right time for the PGA Tour, it’s the right time for the game. That’s why we’re committed to having these conversations.”
Perhaps the most telling moment of the 50-minute press conference was when Monahan was asked whether an agreement with PIF was the same priority as when the framework agreement was announced in June 2023.
“I would say the priority … has been raised. It’s stronger. That’s a direct result of dialogue and conversations and starting to really talk about the future, about future product visions and where we can take our sport,” he said. “I think when you have productive conversations, it increases the likelihood of positive outcomes and that strengthens the spirit of those conversations.”
When asked if there was a deadline, like the original one that called for an agreement by December 31, 2023, Monahan said: “We have not agreed on a deadline. I don’t think we want to constrain ourselves in that way. We want to get the best and right result at the right time.”
It must also be taken into account that negotiations are not a one-way street and that there are indications among Tour members that the slow pace of talks between the two sides is a problem for both Saudi Arabia and the Tour.
But whatever causes the delay, Monahan’s subtle message was clear: the Tour will go on with or without the PIF, and therefore with those who joined the breakaway Tour. The message from the commissioner, who was clearly emboldened by an influx of cash and an economic model that offers more financial flexibility, was clear.
“We now have the structure and resources we need to shape the future of professional golf as we envision it, with the significant support of a group of world-class investors,” he said in his opening remarks.
For those who have struggled to read between the lines over the past two years, the client’s choice of words was clear: on our terms.
