Rory McIlroy held a press conference at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England on Wednesday, September 18. One of the main topics of discussion was the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Speaking from the venue of the BMW PGA Championship, where he will play from September 19-22, McIlroy discussed the major stumbling blocks that could affect the success of the negotiations.
Among other things, the Northern Irishman mentioned the position of certain players on both sides (via ASAP Sports):
“Maybe different interests from the players’ side… I’d say maybe half the players on LIV want the deal to get done; half probably don’t. I’d say it’s probably similar on the PGA Tour.” [0:19 – 0:34]
He added:
“Because just like anything, everyone’s looking out for themselves and their best interests. You know, it would benefit some people for a deal not to get done, but it would obviously benefit some people for a deal to get done.” [0:35 – 0:49]
Rory McIlroy said he thinks both Tours’ managerial team and investors think differently than the players:
“I think the tours want it to happen. The investors certainly want it to happen because they can see the benefit for themselves.” [1:18 – 1:26]
The context of Rory McIlroy’s words
Negotiations between the PGA Tour and the PIF took up space at Rory McIlroy’s press conference because of the resurgence of the issue following a recent Bloomberg report. The report cited some PGA Tour players’ positions as one of the fundamental obstacles to a final agreement.
According to the report, the PGA Tour and PIF were close to a final agreement at the meeting in New York two weeks ago. However, a number of issues remain unresolved, most notably the potential reinstatement of LIV players on the American circuit.
Several PGA Tour players would demand that the players who left for LIV Golf (especially in the case of Jon Rahm) return the money they received in this movement. Other options would be to donate to charity or forfeit all winnings from PGA Tour tournaments.
The same report indicates that Rahm and other LIV players would have rejected the possibility of returning the money.
Another unresolved issue that would hold up a final agreement would be getting top American players to commit to playing tournaments around the world. According to the report, American players have traditionally been reluctant to play outside their country.
The PGA Tour and the PIF have been negotiating an agreement almost since the creation of the LIV Golf League, which is supported by the PIF. A “framework agreement” was announced in June 2023, with a deadline of December 31 for a final deal.
However, the deadline was extended because the agreement did not materialize. Since then, no tentative date for the announcement of a definitive agreement has been made public.
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Edited by Luke Koshi
