PGA Tour holds marathon 5-hour player meeting over PIF-Saudi deal

Rory McIlroy in not in the field at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, but he was in Detroit on Tuesday anyway for a marathon PGA Tour Policy Board meeting regarding the Tour’s proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Sports Illustrated reports a “person familiar with the discussion” revealed that the entire 10-person PGA Tour Policy Board met in person in Detroit to discuss details of the deal, including McIlroy and fellow players Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman and Peter Malnati. Jay Monahan was not present, but in his place were “Chief of Operations Tyler Dennis and Chief Operating Officer Ron Price, who are leading the Tour in Monahan’s absence.”

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The meeting comes just one day after the confidential framework agreement between the Tour, PIF and the DP World Tour was leaked, which, among other things, laid out the way in which the PGA Tour would maintain controlling interest of the new umbrella company while accepting new investments from PIF.

Following the meeting, the PGA Tour released a statement saying the focus of Tuesday’s meeting was to begin “a new phase of negotiations to determine if the Tour can reach a definitive agreement that is in the best of interests of our players, fans, sponsors, partners, and the game overall.”

“If future negotiations lead to a proposed agreement, it would need approval by the Tour’s Policy Board, which includes Player Directors. In the meantime, we are all committed to the safeguards in the Framework Agreement that ensure the PGA Tour would lead and maintain control of this potential new commercial entity. We are confident that the Tour’s mission will continue to focus on showcasing the game of golf while serving local communities.”

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Whether or not the Tour’s Policy Board can create and approve a definitive agreement with PIF, the deal faces significant headwinds, primarily in the form of a review by the U.S. Department of Justice, Congress and potentially European regulators given the involvement of the DP World Tour.

You can read all about the seven most crucial revelations from the Tour’s leaked agreement with PIF and the DP World Tour here.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.