Martin Slumbers, the Royal and Ancient Chief, has a very special guest. The two met at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October. Before that, they had a ‘symbolic’ business meeting after the Open Championship. The talks were rather productive, as a British daily reported that R&A chief and PIF governor Yasir Al Rumayyan are in talks to fund Saudi golf schemes.

R&A’s potential partnership is another piece of evidence of the warm embrace that the Saudi sovereign fund enjoys in a world where it was a pariah not too long ago. More than that, it seems to point toward a future world where it would be impossible to leave out PIF’s money. If we need any further indication, His Excellency was also the most influential person in the sports business this year. As Rumayyan seems to have found another ally, what does this indicate for the future of golf?

Another PIF partnership in the offing?

The Guardian reported that R&A chief Martin Slumbers has been in contact with Yasir Al Rumayyan for months. Slumbers is in talks for a partnership with PIF. “Golf Saudi Arabia is an affiliated national association of the R&A, and discussions are taking place about us supporting potential development projects,” the British Daily quoted an R&A spokesperson.

The nature of the agreement is not yet clear. Also, the fact that R&A is looking to fund Saudi golf schemes sounds ironic, considering PIF’s treasury hoards $775 billion. Nevertheless, it does indicate that PIF has reached the upper echelons of the golf world. While the PGA Tour has faced massive backlash for aligning with PIF, the recent developments once again prove that PIF is a lucrative prospect for almost everyone.

The riches in the Saudi treasury are attracting eyeballs as the majors in both men’s and women’s circuits have massively increased purses. So does it indicate that PIF can be a title sponsor for next year’s Open Championship?

PIF money in the oldest major?

In the last four years, the Open Championship’s purse size has increased by $6 million. And it will only go upward! At the Open Championship press conference, Slumbers said that there was “much more rapid acceleration in men’s professional prize money than we had anticipated or planned for.” Does that indicate that PIF can pump money into the oldest of the majors? Slumbers was not averse to the idea.

This was the R&A chief in July: “The world of sport has changed dramatically in the last 12 months, and it is not feasible for the R&A or golf to just ignore what is a societal change on a global basis.” He was speaking just a month after Jay Monahan and Yasir Al Rumayyan appeared side by side on national television. Adding further, the CEO said, “We will be considering within all the parameters that we look at all the options that we have.“

The R&A chief’s comments, which suggested he was open to accepting Saudi money, didn’t sit well with many for obvious reasons. But Martin Slumbers, an investment banker by profession, knows the stark financial reality he is looking at.

Let’s put this in the context of the huge amount of money LIV Golf and PGA Tour events offer. It’s not easy to keep up with the purses of Tour without big-money investors coming. Moreover, if the $3 billion merger announcement falls through, the purse size will only inflate for the Tour.

R&A will have to answer if there is a huge disparity between tour purses and major purses. Notably, this year’s $16.5 million purse was the highest the Open Championship offered and yet fell $8.5 million short of the Players Championship’s prize pool. In this context, a mutual agreement with PIF is certainly lucrative, but is it likely?

Yasir Al Rumayyan’s ascent into the golf world

After the final round of this year’s Open, Slumbers met with PIF boss Yasir Al Rumayyan for a private meeting in the presence of Amanda Staveley, per a Golfweek report. Interestingly, Staveley, a British financier with deep connections in the Middle East, helped PIF take 80% control over top-tier English Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021.

13 years ago, she was also the woman behind Abu Dhabi’s Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s takeover of Manchester City, which won the EPL and UEFA Champions League last season and clinched the Club World Cup last week. The 50-year-old British investor was also present at the Masters, where she was spotted talking with Jay Monahan, just months before the framework agreement shocked the world.

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Yasir Al Rumayyan and Maritn Slubmers also paired up at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, raising speculation among golf fans. As the recent report confirms, indeed, something is brewing. Interestingly, LIV golf pros might benefit in hitherto unforeseen ways.

It is not unreasonable to expect a mutual agreement between the two bosses if the current talks come to fruition. In fact, Martin Slumbers said that the organizers have created more avenues for the LIV Golf players to participate in the Open. Although, as of now, R&A hasn’t announced anything, if a deal between them comes through, an exemption for top players in LIV Golf might be on the cards. Talor Gooch can look forward to that.

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