The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund appear to be no closer to a deal to reunify professional golf after the tour rejected the PIF’s latest proposal, according to multiple media reports.
The PIF, which bankrolls LIV Golf, failed to persuade the tour to make substantial concessions in exchange for a $1.5 billion investment, The Guardian first reported last Thursday. Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper reported that in recent correspondence with the tour, the PIF sought assurances LIV Golf could continue to operate and that its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, could be co-chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises in exchange for the investment. The PGA Tour replied to the PIF’s demands last Monday, with neither deemed acceptable, the report said.
Sources told ESPN the PIF wants team golf to be part of the sport’s future ecosystem if the sides reach a deal. The PGA Tour has tried to offer solutions to the PIF that would include an iteration of LIV Golf in future schedules, such as having team competitions at international venues in the fall, the report said.
Meanwhile, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil told reporters his league doesn’t have to make a deal with the PGA Tour to survive. “If the deal can help grow the game of golf, I’ll jump in with two feet,” O'Neil said ahead of last week’s LIV Golf Miami event. “Do we have to do a deal? No. It would be nice to do a deal, so long as we’re all focused on the same things.” READ MORE
Andrew Redington, Getty Images
While the LPGA took center stage in Las Vegas last week with its T-Mobile Match Play tournament, the city will be without a PGA Tour event this year for the first time in nearly four decades after Shriners Children’s Hospitals ended its sponsorship last fall.
The loss might not be a permanent setback, however. The PGA Tour hopes to return to the city with an early-year event that attracts the sport’s top names. When that happens is unknown, and it won’t occur until at least 2027.
“Vegas is a market for big events,” John Norris, senior vice president of PGA Tour tournaments, told the Associated Press. “They don’t do anything small. You got the major sports leagues there now. You’ve got the entertainers, world-class building in the Sphere. So what we thought was we want to be back in Vegas, but we want to do it with a big event.” READ MORE
Korn Ferry Tour player Ryan McCormick, who has been struggling to control his temper on the course of late, took a novel approach to the problem during the second round of last week’s Club Car Championship in Savannah, Georgia: he taped his mouth shut.
On social media, the tour posted video of McCormick playing with clear tape over his mouth and explaining the peculiar move.
“Been having not-so-fun times this year on the golf course. Pretty angry and mad,” McCormick said. “So I figured I’ve tried a lot of things, and I just figured I’d shut myself up. So I put tape over my mouth.”
McCormick, who lost his PGA Tour card in 2024, missed the cut with rounds of 73-72. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
The DP World Tour is finalizing a deal to bring a tournament to Trump International Golf Links Scotland near Aberdeen, Golf Digest reported. Sources told the magazine the tournament would be slotted for Aug. 7-10, historically a spot on the schedule occupied by the Czech Masters, which has been cancelled this year after tournament officials failed to secure a venue. READ MORE
Max Homa split with his longtime caddie, Joe Greiner, before last week’s Valero Texas Open. Homa employed Bill Harke on the bag at TPC San Antonio, where he missed the cut with rounds of 76-71. READ MORE
NBC Sports’ PGA Tour broadcasts have posted six consecutive weekends of year-over-year viewership gains on NBC, Peacock, and NBC Sports Digital properties, based on official data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics, according to a network news release. READ MORE
The PGA Tour Champions tournament in Rancho Mirage, California, is seeking a new sponsor after Grail, the healthcare company that has sponsored the Galleri Classic, opted out of its contract, tournament officials said. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity