Before the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund can come to terms on what both would see as a mutually beneficial agreement – that is as challenging as it sounds – it’s vital the tour has its own house in order.
There is work being done, and more to be done.
That comes from someone involved in the process from the PGA Tour side who believes the game’s current chasm can be bridged, but not yet.
Two developments last week pushed the process along from the tour side.
Rory McIlroy’s impending return to the PGA Tour Policy Board is an important potential step not because Webb Simpson, whom McIlroy would replace, wasn’t effective – he was a steady voice of reason where it was needed – but because McIlroy is a powerful force whose global vision may be vital among the tour’s player directors.
McIlroy made it clear last week his return has not been finalized and it’s up to others to decide whether it will happen. Rejecting McIlroy’s return to the board would be a serious mistake and signal an unwillingness to compromise that could redirect where negotiations go from here.
Secondly, the finalization of the tour’s equity awards to players past and present is a tangible example of the Signature Sports Group’s immediate impact and influence. By committing $930 million to players who will have ownership stakes in the PGA Tour, the payments reward loyalty while coming with a vesting timeline that, at least theoretically, could persuade players to stay where they are should LIV Golf come knocking.
More than any other player, McIlroy has been at or near the center of the swirl that has engulfed the game since LIV arrived more than two years ago, speaking out vociferously against LIV and its heavy-handed disruption of professional golf.
By returning to the Policy Board as a player director alongside Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Peter Malnati and Patrick Cantlay, McIlroy could push for peace knowing some other player directors prefer a more hardline approach.
McIlroy stepped away from the Policy Board late last year and, for a time, tempered his public comments about the state of the game. McIlroy began to soften his public criticism of LIV, offering a more conciliatory tone. It prompted some to wonder whether he was pondering a potential jump, polarizing some fans weary of all that’s happening.
McIlroy said two weeks ago at the RBC Heritage he will play the PGA Tour for the remainder of his career and has privately said because PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan respects McIlroy’s position, he never has been offered a contract from LIV.
McIlroy believes he can be helpful to the process, but he goes in knowing some others don’t entirely agree with his perspective. Finding a middle ground, both within the PGA Tour Policy Board and in any potential agreement with the PIF, would drive McIlroy.
“Compromise but also try to articulate your points as well as you can and try to help people see the benefits of what unification could do for the game and what it could do for this tour in particular,” McIlroy said.
“We obviously realize the game is not unified right now for a reason, and there's still some hard feelings and things that need to be addressed, but I think at this point for the good of the game, we all need to put those feelings aside and all move forward together.”
McIlroy’s potential return to the Policy Board may not be the only move among the leadership group. Privately, some independent directors have expressed their frustration over the difficulty in developing a shared vision and have considered resigning.
Change, as articulated by baseball executive Theo Epstein in a presentation to the tour’s Player Advisory Council during a meeting at the RBC Heritage, is essential. Focusing that change on the fans, Epstein told the gathered group, must be at the top of the to-do list.
Yet here we are again talking about money, and lots of it.
It has turned fans off, and their frustration has begun to show in television ratings.
“It's quite nauseating,” PAC member Max Homa said when asked about the seemingly constant talk about money.
The tour informed players last week they will begin receiving equity grants from a $930 million fund created by SSG. The payouts will be based on multiple factors, with players being compensated for their performance, future participation, their overall impact and other considerations.
According to reports, Tiger Woods will receive $100 million, McIlroy will get $50 million and Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas will be paid $30 million apiece. The tour indicated that more than 200 players will receive equity grants.
There is also another $600 million to be granted in increments of $100 million beginning in 2025, stemming from PGA Tour Enterprises, a for-profit entity created with the arrival of SSG. The tour has said publicly the PIF could be involved in PGA Enterprises as a minority investor if an agreement is reached.
“I think it's a very big, complicated business. Changing direction and shaping changes takes time, and I think everybody has to realize that.”
Patrick Cantlay
The money doesn’t go immediately to players. Fifty percent will be awarded in four years, 75 percent will be available in six years and the full equity shares will be vested in eight years.
It would not have happened without SSG’s investment. How much direct influence the group of business and professional sports leaders has on the tour remains to be seen, but it’s likely to be substantial.
“I think it's been such a short time frame that it's really hard to see if there's been meaningful influence. But I'm hopeful that there will be in a positive direction,” said Cantlay, who has been challenging to deal with in meetings, according to some board members. “I think it's a very big, complicated business. Changing direction and shaping changes takes time, and I think everybody has to realize that.”
It was discouraging that Guy Kinnings, the new CEO of the DP World Tour and one of the game’s most insightful leaders, said last week that representatives of the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF have never had a meeting together.
The June 6 anniversary of the bombshell framework agreement is approaching, and it’s not clear that much progress has been made.
This never was going to be easy, and it doesn’t appear to be getting any easier.
E-MAIL RON
Top: Rory McIlroy's return to the PGA Tour Policy Board is an important step toward unity.
CHLOE KNOTT, COURTESY AUGUSTA NATIONAL