Golf’s warring factions miss merger deadline day to leave future still in flux | Ewan Murray
The concept of peace in our days of golf was always more interesting than the level of detail required to make that dream a reality. The sports world was shocked by the announcement on June 6 that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund would form a new entity. The vitriol attached to LIV's march onto the scene would presumably dissipate on the basis that those in control of the elite game had decided to kiss and make up.
Another date, December 31, became crucial. The parties had designated the end of 2023 as the closing point for turning a framework agreement into something binding. This always seemed like a wildly optimistic target.
The new year will come and go without a good outline of the future. Those with knowledge of the ongoing discussions point out that December 31 was a loose goal rather than a legally enforceable necessity. This deadline can always be extended, whether someone wants to announce it or not.
A new element of complication arose after Fenway Sports Group, keen to add to a portfolio that includes Liverpool FC, joined the talks. The arrival of Fenway is a huge boost for the PGA Tour, not only on the basis of providing equality and legitimacy outside of golf, but also potentially because of minimizing the influence that PIF can have.
The PGA Tour has always seemed eager to capture the Saudi dollar while maintaining complete control over the upper echelons of golf. However, to realize this ambition, PIF must be satisfied with the role of sleeping partner. It would be a strange approach for a group with billions of dollars.
“We are confident that we will achieve a positive outcome for the PGA Tour,” said Jay Monahan, the organization's commissioner, when he last addressed the media in August. This is fundamentally different from achieving a positive outcome for the entire game. When the Saudis brought Jon Rahm to LIV in recent weeks, it was their final statement of intent. Ignore them at your peril.
While hopes are high that a detailed alliance and new investments will take place soon, it could take two years before the organizational form is clear. Planning has already been made for 2024. The most important element is where and whether LIV fits into a collective future, given the agenda challenges that already exist.
LIV has served a purpose, but is also the baby of a Saudi regime that will not be easily convinced to end it. The PGA and DP World Tours must determine how players who have switched to LIV can return, if they wish, without causing unrest among members who remained loyal.
The path to salvation is a rocky one. DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley has been noticeably quiet but must work to ensure the strategic alliance he has formed with the PGA Tour bears fruit as the sport plots its next decades. Professional golf in Europe is too important to leave behind.
Monahan is in such a treacherous position that it is difficult to foresee him staying in his post for too long. Before the arrival of LIV, he was widely regarded as the best leader of a US-based sports organization. His status has been horribly undermined by the steadfast position that no player should have to deal with the Rebels tour – not even on moral grounds – just before the PGA Tour jumped into a bunker with PIF.
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“Do as I say, not as I do” leadership will never prevail. Similar intrigue surrounds Greg Norman, who is holding on to his role at LIV despite routine speculation that he would be moved. Norman could legitimately ride off into the sunset at any time, claiming he had done his job in taking a wrecking ball to the traditional and complacent ecosystem. It only helped that the Australian had bottomless pits of money before that.
A group of regular PGA Tour players remain dissatisfied with their fate. Apparent secrecy from those on the tour's board has irritated some. The problem is strange: No organization of the PGA Tour's size can reasonably be expected to involve every member in decision-making. Directors are elected for a reason.
Yet this speaks to a broader picture, with entitled players demanding more and more. The prize money they compete for, especially on the PGA Tour, is extremely high.
The PGA Tour comes out of cold storage in Maui this week. Ludvig Åberg, eager to continue his meteoric rise to fame, is one of the headline acts. Touching stories like Åberg's still exist, only they have been overtaken by dollar signs and machinations in the boardrooms. Golf keeps moving.