From Shock Resignations to Agonizing Delays: Timeline of PGA Tour-PIF Merger Drama So Far

One year has come and gone, yet golf is nowhere near unification. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to walk separate paths. But the need for a unified game isn’t lost on anyone. Neither Rory McIlroy nor Bryson DeChambeau, and certainly not golf fans. Nevertheless, a lot has happened since the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and PIF agreed to align their business interests for the betterment of players and fans. Here is a rundown of the key events from the last year. 

June 6: A seed was sown by Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan appeared on morning television to announce that both parties have called for a ceasefire. Monahan revealed that PIF and the PGA Tour will merge their business interests for a unified future of the game. They put forward a proposal for a new for-profit entity that will include the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour. 

The rollout caught everyone off guard. Until June 5, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were engaged in a civil war. The legal battle has caused a deep rupture in the world of professional golf. Rory McIlroy, then one of the most vocal critics of the PIF-funded side, admitted feeling like a ‘sacrificial lamb’. 

While it ended all the courtroom battles, PGA Tour players lashed out at Monahan for keeping it under wraps for so long. In a board meeting a few days later, Monahan was called a hypocrite by a player. There were calls for resignation, which grew louder over the next few months. But the seven weeks of negotiation were done in absolute secrecy. Even Greg Norman wasn’t aware until June 6.

June 13: Jay Monahan takes a sabbatical

Jay Monahan announced through the PGA Tour memo that he was dealing with a medical problem that necessitated a break from day-to-day work as the Tour commissioner. Ron Price and Tyler Dennis took charge in his absence. Monahan later revealed he was bogged down by all the talks and public criticism and suffered a nervous breakdown. Monahan returned a month later.

July 9: The first resignation hits the PGA Tour

Former AT&T chairman and long-time board member Randall Stephenson resigned from the PGA Tour Policy Board shortly after the June 6 agreement. In a letter to the PGA Tour, the veteran cited serious concerns regarding the PGA Tour’s deals with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. 

Stephenson, apparently, wanted to shoot off his resignation letter on June 13, a week after the announcement. However, he waited a month because of Monahan’s sudden sabbatical. The eventual resignation came just a few days before the Senate hearing. 

July 11, the eventful senate hearing that revealed many hidden details

The Senate Homeland Security Committee’s investigations subcommittee grilled Ron Price, PGA Tour’s operating chief at that point, and Jimmy Dunne, the architect of the deal and a board member, on the possible problems arising out of the deal. 

While PIF’s outsized influence on the future of the PGA Tour raised larger concerns, the Senate hearing was more significant as some key details were divulged. For starters, PIF officials proposed a team for Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The PGA Tour denied that. 

Contrarily, the PGA Tour officials sought Greg Norman’s ouster as the LIV Golf CEO. That request, however, wasn’t met from their side. Notably, PIF officials didn’t appear before the Senate. Norman later termed all that ‘white noise,’ claiming he has full support for Yasir Al-Rumayyan. 

Both Price and Dunne emphasized that a deal with PIF would benefit the PGA Tour the most as they would have a say on how PIF invests in golf, which they hoped would be more constructive in the future. 

August 1: Tiger Woods joins the PGA Tour Policy Board

In a momentous decision, Tiger Woods, for the first time in his two-decade-long career, accepted an invitation to join the PGA Tour Policy Board. After many players voiced concern that players’ demands were being ignored, the tour also appointed Colin Neville as the adviser to the players on the board. 

For the first time in the board’s existence, the player directors outnumbered the existing members of the board. The move also included an amendment to the governing documents that made it mandatory to inform the players about any major decisions to be taken by the PGA Tour. 

December 7: Jon Rahm makes a huge LIV Golf leap of faith

Jon Rahm, who, during the 2023 Open Championship, stood by Jay Monahan, joined LIV Golf in December. The Spaniard was absent from the greens since the Ryder Cup, and the speculations were high. On December 7, Rahm appeared on television donning a LIV Letterman jacket. 

Rahm cited the opportunity to spend more time with family as the reason for joining LIV. On the PGA Tour, the two-time major champion said, “I’m forever grateful to the PGA Tour and the platform they allowed me to be on. I have nothing bad to say about them. They allowed me the opportunity to play in some great events and allowed me to make a mark.”

Rahm’s exit was significant because this was LIV’s first signing since the merger agreement. It was widely believed until then that Greg Norman would stop hunting for new players until an agreement was reached. 

Quite to the contrary, PGA Tour-bound Adrian Meronk, Tyrell Hatton, who teed up on the PGA Tour in 2024, and Lucas Herbert joined the bandwagon a month later. Jon Rahm was swiftly banned from the PGA Tour. 

December 12: The PGA Tour receives a letter calling for more clarity on the merger.

21 PGA Tour players shot off a letter criticizing the lack of transparency in the negotiations with PIF. The disgruntled players, including former Masters champion Danny Willett, former board member James Hahn, and the late Grayson Murray, demanded “a meeting with independent directors on the policy board to understand the process that has been followed and will be followed going forward.”

The letter via New York-based law firm Susman Godfrey came in the wake of the PGA Tour’s negotiations with multiple potential investors and a few weeks after Rory McIlroy’s departure from the board. The players wanted ‘full transparency’ about the conversations with their future capital partners. 

December 31: The deadline passes not with a bang but with a whimper

When Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan sat elbow-to-elbow on June 6, they also announced that they were expected to reach an agreement by December 31. Six months was always going to be a tough ask, and the slow-paced progress indicated they couldn’t meet the deadline. 

Late into New Year’s Eve, the PGA Tour released an update. In a memo sent to players, Jay Monahan said the negotiations are moving forward. The memo also revealed that the Tour and Strategic Sports Group are in the final stages of negotiations. 

January 31: Strategic Sports Group arrives on the scene

Exactly a month after the initial deadline, the PGA Tour received a promising $3 billion. But there was no sight of PIF. Rather, Strategic Sports Group, a conglomerate of U.S. sports team owners, invested $1.5 billion initially, with the other half coming later. A significant chunk of the $1.5 billion has been vested in current players. 

With the SSG’s involvement, they also formed PGA Tour Enterprises, the for-profit entity that was mentioned in the initial framework agreement. But instead of Al-Rumayyan, Jay Monahan was named as the CEO of the new group. 

The investment from SSG buoyed the hopes of players and board members. It also found a positive response from both Greg Norman and Yasir Al-Rumayyan. SSG also became an important part of the negotiation in the future. 

March 18: Yasir Al-Rumayyan meets the PGA Tour Player Directors

The PGA Tour’s player directors met with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for the first time in March. The rendezvous was scheduled at Tiger Woods’s resort in Albany, Bahamas. There was a lot of anticipation, but for the PGA Tour pros, it was more about putting a face to a name. 

The player directors revealed that the talks have been constructive. Both parties shared their concerns and their vision for the future. Jay Monahan, in the official memo, informed players of the situation but didn’t reveal anything beyond the fact the fact that both parties are engaged. Notably, John Henry represented the Fenway Sports Group in the meeting. 

June 7: the second in-person meeting between the players and PIF officials

A year after the merger announcement, the PGA Tour and PIF showed real interest. The PGA Tour now has a specific Transaction Committee, with Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, and Rory McIlroy as members, that overlooks the day-to-day activity of the merger. The members met PIF officials in New York on June 7. 

The in-person meeting was more about the future of golf, Rory McIlroy said. The Tour, in its recently released memo, once again reiterated that the merger would take more time. Notably, the PGA Tour and PIF officials also exchanged term sheets only a few days before the meeting.

That’s the latest update from the PGA Tour as of now. The board has gone through some changes. Jordan Spieth has rejoined the board in Rory McIlroy’s place. Jimmy Dunne, the architect of the framework agreement, has resigned from the board. The tour and PIF, however, appear willing to put all the differences aside.