PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan insists talks with PIF and LIV Golf are ‘stronger’ but deal will still ‘take time’

While he insists they have been “actively engaged” in “enhanced” discussions of late, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan had no real update on the proposed deal between the league and the Saudi Public Investment Fund on Wednesday.

Monahan was repeatedly asked about the status of negotiations between the Tour and the PIF, which backs LIV Golf, at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, the site of this week’s Tour Championship. That came about nine months after the group blew past its original Dec. 31 deadline for a deal, and little has changed since then.

Monahan’s comments on Wednesday weren’t new. He said a version of the same thing a few weeks ago at TPC Southwind, so it’s unclear if anything has actually changed since then. There’s also no new deadline for a deal.

Jay Monahan: A deal with LIV Golf will ‘still take time’

Monahan first shocked the golf world last summer when he announced he had signed a “framework agreement” for a partnership between the Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF – which came after years of tumultuous infighting within the sport.

After missing its December deadline, the Tour formed a “transaction subcommittee” that is reportedly focused on day-to-day negotiations with the PIF. Monahan and several players, including Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, sit on the committee. The Tour released its 2025 schedule earlier this month, which Monahan said was a sign that the two leagues would continue to operate separately next year.

The Tour has also received an influx of money since then to help keep up with the PIF. It launched PGA Tour Enterprises, a for-profit entity, after an investment of up to $3 billion from Strategic Sports Group. That has created a path for players to actually own the Tour, among other things.

It’s unclear what specifically is holding up the negotiations. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach said there are major “sticking points” in the talks related to the future of team golf and whether LIV Golf members can return to the PGA Tour without disciplinary action. Monahan, however, did not elaborate on Wednesday.

So when the deal will go through, if at all, is still anyone’s guess. Based on Monahan’s comments this week, there’s no real end in sight here.

But the most important thing, he said, is that all parties are still at the table.