LIV Golf Rumors: Jay Monahan to Stun Greg Norman and Yasir Al-Rummayan in Huge Merger Setback

The PGA Tour is set to announce its partnership with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) as soon as tomorrow, reports indicate. A Players Advisory Council meeting ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Wednesday bolstered these claims. Jay Monahan is set to hold a conference call with all members to “provide an important time update,” per a memo shared by Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal.

The memo reads, due to the high number of members from all three tours, “the conference call is listen-only.” The three tours are the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, and the Champions Tour. Interestingly, it does not indicate any involvement of PIF, much to the chagrin of LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, and PIF Chief, Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

Notably, all four Sponsors’ invites at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the first full-field Signature event of the calendar year, have gone to the Players Advisory Council members. Although criticized by many as reeking of favoritism, analysts have pointed out the rationale behind this move. Presumably, the Tour wanted to discuss with all the board members, so, the Sponsor’s invites went to PAC members.  

Dan Rapport of Barstool Sports has cited insider sources to report that the agreement is reaching the ‘finish line.’  However, PIF’s absence has miffed Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF chief, as the New York Post reported earlier. The Saudi mogul is concerned that SSG’s investments will eclipse the Saudi Sovereign Fund’s commitment of $3B, and kick them to sideline from the center of it all.

As per the initial agreement on June 6, Jay Monahan was open to court third-party investors. In agreement with the Players Advisory Council, the Tour announced SSG, a consortium of deep-pocketed investors including Arthur Blank of Atlanta Falcons (NFL), Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners,  Steve Cohen of New York Mets (MLB), Tom Werner of Liverpool (EPL) and Boston Red Sox (MLB). It is led by Fenway Sports Group, as their final partner. The Tour and PIF, on the other hand, have been locked in talks for months as heavy cross-firing still goes on. 

Where is the PGA Tour – PIF merger headed?

Keith Pelley, the outgoing DP World Tour CEO, revealed that Monahan and Al-Rumayyan are steadfast in reaching an agreement as soon as possible. The Sports Business Journal reported that the Tour commissioner was in Saudi Arabia for an in-person meeting with the PIF Chief. The details of the meeting are not known yet.

Read More: Mayakoba Calls but LIV Golf Still Raises More Questions Than It Answers

However, insider sources claim that a breakthrough is set to reach before the Masters in April. As both parties continue the merger talks, PIF has doubled down on its hunt for PGA Tour stars. Most recently, Tyrrell Hatton joined Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII. On the other hand, Lucas Herbert and Adrian Meronk are also reported to be in final talks with the rebel league.

LIV Golf will kickstart its season at Mayakoba on February 2, a day after AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tess off in Pebble Beach.

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