June 6 marks one year since PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al Rumayyan announced a Framework Agreement to reunite men's golf; Yet 12 months on, negotiations remain ongoing over finalising a deal to bring the sport back together
Friday 7 June 2024 07:42, UK
A year ago today, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al Rumayyan sat side-by-side on American TV channel CNBC and announced a Framework Agreement had been reached to reunite men’s professional golf.
It was a bolt from the blue which sent shockwaves and initial confusion through the sport but gave hope that the divide between the traditional circuits of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, and the upstart LIV Golf league could be bridged.
Yet, 12 months on from Monahan and Al Rumayyan's bombshell interview, the men's professional game remains split in two as negotiations to finalise the Framework Agreement rumble on. Here, we take a look at what has happened and what comes next...
The launch of LIV Golf, backed by the financial might of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, in 2022 as a rival to the traditional North American and European tours opened up a split in the game and led to plenty of acrimony on both sides between those who stayed loyal and those who defected.
Players who decided to jump ship for LIV, which included big names such as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, were banned from competing on the PGA and DP World Tours as a result.
LIV players became ineligible to compete for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup too due to eligibility rules only allowing DP World Tour members to be part of the squad. Brooks Koepka was, however, chosen as a captain's pick for Team USA in Rome last year as their eligibility rules are different.
Both sides engaged in legal battles as well, although golf's four majors took a neutral stance and continued to allow players to compete whatever tour they played on as long as they met the respective qualification criteria.
Behind the scenes though, discussions began over bringing the game back together. The initial meeting between Al Rumayyan and PGA Tour board members believed to be Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy was followed by a meeting between the PIF governor and Monahan in London.
In the space of seven weeks, the Framework Agreement was hashed out without the involvement of any players and only a handful of people being aware of what was being discussed.
As far as those on the PGA Tour side of the divide were concerned, emotions mostly ranged from confusion to anger and hostility towards commissioner Monahan, given the fact the majority had no idea about any negotiations taking place prior to the news breaking.
After sending out a letter to the Tour's members, Monahan laid out what was happening at a hastily arranged meeting the day prior to the first round of last year's RBC Canadian Open. That did little to quell dissent, though, and there were reports some players called on him to resign during that gathering.
Even the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, both of whom had been staunch defenders of golf's established order were taken by surprise, but although McIlroy admitted he felt like something of a sacrificial lamb, he tried to see the positives.
"When I try to remove myself from the situation and I look at the bigger picture, I think ultimately this is going to be good for the game of professional golf. It unifies it and secures its future," McIlroy said following the announcement.
Even so, some players felt a sense of betrayal and England's Callum Tarren was among those to speak out, telling Golf Channel: "The guys who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour, it's kind of a kick in the teeth to them.
"Obviously Rory [McIlroy] was a huge advocate of the PGA Tour, and now it kind of looks like all his hard work and sticking up for the PGA Tour was left by the wayside."
None of the players on the LIV side were any the wiser before the Framework Agreement was announced either, but Mickelson posted on social media: "An awesome day today."
A date of December 31, 2023 was set to conclude the deal to bring men's professional golf back together, but that passed without the Framework Agreement being ratified and negotiations are still ongoing.
Monahan gave his most recent update on negotiations ahead of The Players Championship in March where he insisted progress was being made.
"Our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together," Monahan said. "While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf's worldwide potential.
"It's going to take time, but I reiterate what I said at the Tour Championship in August. I see a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and the sport as a whole."
As of yet, however, there has still been no announcement as to whether or indeed when any formal agreement between PIF, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour will be signed.
The PGA Tour had previously secured a $3bn investment as part of a partnership deal with the Strategic Sports Group though, with the agreement announced in February.
That deal being concluded still allows for co-investment from PIF as well. However, the PGA Tour's executive has been hit by departures in the past 12 months.
Randall Stephenson, of AT&T, resigned from the board abruptly last summer over the proposed deal with PIF and in the last month alone, Dunne and board member Mark Flaherty resigned.
McIlroy, so long one of the most public defenders of the PGA Tour against LIV, announced he was resigning as one of the six players on the policy board last November. The Northern Irishman had a change of heart this year, but recently failed in a bid to re-join the board to help speed negotiations along.
That remains the billion-dollar question. The PGA Tour is still negotiating for PIF to become an investor, but it took until March for the players on the Tour Enterprises board to meet with Al Rumayyan.
Jordan Spieth, who replaced McIlroy on the policy board, insisted two weeks ago that any suggestions that negotiations are "in a bad place and are moving slowly" are not true.
"I think ultimately we'll end up in a place where professional golf is maybe the best that it's ever been," Spieth said ahead of the Charles Schwab Challenge. "I think both sides believe that."
One of the major issues to be resolved is around how LIV players will be integrated back into the PGA and DP World Tour structure, along with what the future of the team-based series will be if men's golf is reunited.
Those on the LIV side, who have been joined by two-time major champion Jon Rahm and Ryder Cup star Tyrrell Hatton this year, are adamant that whatever is agreed, their series is going to be around for a long time to come.
"I think we all believe that the product we're playing in right now is strong and we don't think it's going to go away anytime soon," former US Open champion Graeme McDowell said ahead last month's tournament in Singapore. "I think there's a lot of positives for the fan with the team element.
"There's just so many good things that we're doing out here. I really feel like the trajectory is moving us in the right direction, and I don't think this product is going anywhere anytime soon regardless of any mergers.
"We're very, very happy with what we're doing and with the product that we're playing in."
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