Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy own LIV Golf teams among proposals in PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia PIF talks
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy taking ownership stakes in LIV Golf teams and participating in 10 LIV Golf events throughout the year are among the proposals put forward by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in negotiations with the PGA Tour, according to documents released by the US Senate Permanent. The Investigative Subcommittee during a hearing on Tuesday to investigate the agreement between Tour and PIF. During its April 26 meeting, PCP Capital Partners presented a slide show to PGA Tour policy board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy titled “The Best of Both Worlds” in that raised many proposals beyond the ownership of Woods and McIlroy.
In the same documents, McIlroy met with PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in November 2022. The documents also include a side agreement in which the PGA Tour also requested the removal of LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman. as Performance 54, a UK company that supported the development of LIV Golf.
“I think Greg needs to go. I think he just needs to leave the left leg,” McIlroy said at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. “He’s made his mark, but I think now’s the right time to say you’ve got this, but nobody’s going to say it unless there’s an adult in the room who can really try.” mend the fence.”
Additionally, potential long-term deals include a LIV Golf team event with qualifying events in Saudi Arabia with a final week in Dubai. This large-scale superstar LIV team event featuring PGA Tour, LIV Golf and LPGA players will include 16 captains and a televised live draft in the hope of increasing interest in the Ryder Cup. TV revenue will flow in the direction of LIV Golf.
Other suggestions to consider include:
- Global golf investment fund managed by PIF
- At least two popular PGA Tour events sponsored by Aramco and/or PIF, with one of these being held in Saudi Arabia.
- PIF Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan will become the Director of the International Golf Federation and become a member of the Augusta National and R&A.
- A “World Golf Series” ends in Saudi Arabia
- The LIV works as it is but will be played in the fall or with the LIV concept existing alongside the PGA Tour
According to the documents, at least eight drafts of the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF existed. None of the above considerations go into the implemented framework agreement.
The initial connection between the PGA Tour and the PIF was provided by British businessman Roger Devlin on December 8, 2022. Devlin wrote to Dunne that he had been invited by officials in the PIF to find a solution to the problem. the rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Devlin informed Dunne that PIF governor al-Rumayyan has “great ambitions to support, develop and modernize the sport and is clearly well equipped to fund these goals.”
Dunne didn’t care before Devlin restarted the conversation on April 14, 2023. Dunne and al-Rumayyan began exchanging WhatsApp messages four days later on April 18. Less than two months later, Framework agreement between PGA Tour and PIF announced.
The agreement came with sketchy details but outlined a plan for the PGA Tour and PIF to hold commercial activities under a new for-profit organization called PGA Tour Enterprises. Saudi PIF plans to be a minority investor of this new entity. PGA Tour CEO Ron Price estimated the investment “about $1 billion” from the PIF during a July 11 hearing in the Senate.
Rick Gehman joins Kyle Porter, Mark Immelman and Greg DuCharme to discuss Tuesday’s Senate hearing regarding the PGA Tour and PIF as well as a preview of the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open. Watch and listen to The First Cut. above Apple Podcasts And Spotify.
