Commissioner PGA Tour Jay Monahan says the participation of President Donald Trump is LIV Golf’s reunification ‘very real’ | Golf news
Commissioner PGA Tour Jay Monahan believes that President Donald Trump’s involvement has made a chance of reunification in the male game “very really”, although he warned that the management body would only complete the agreement on its own terms.
Men’s professional game has been broken since the introduction of LIV Golf 2022, a backed by the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia [PIF]with PGA players and DP World Tour who joined the new circle.
The Framework Agreement for the Conversation of the conversation was signed in June 2023, but one has yet to be finalized, leaving the LIV golf player unacceptable to go to PGA Tour and limit the frequency that the best world players compete against each other.
The PGA Tour Commissioner met with Trump and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan last month at the White House on the ‘constructive work session’, along with Tiger Woods and the director of players Adam Scott, and Monahan praised the president’s involvement in discussions.
“The conversations are real, they are significant and are guided at the highest levels of both organizations,” Monahan said at his press conference before the tournament in front of the players. “These conversations significantly strengthened President Trump’s willingness to serve as a leader.
“President Trump is a lifelong golf fan. He believes strongly in the power and potential of the game, and was extremely generous with his time and influence to help with the agreement.
“He wants to see the game again unite. We want to see the game re -united. His involvement made the possibility of reuniting very real.”
PGA Tour sets the border of strength in negotiations
Monahan and Scott also met with Trump on February 4 as part of the proposed PGA Tour -us Pif agreement, which plans to inject money in the Tour Enterprises entity, although details remain limited to the reunion could look in both rounds.
“When you are in the midst of complex negotiations, especially when you may be close to the breakthrough, flows appear in the discussion,” Monahan added. “The most important thing is the mutual respect we have built in the last few years.
“As part of our negotiations, we believe that there is a space to integrate important aspects of Liv Golf in the PGA Tour platform. We do everything we can to bring together two sides.
“This is said, we will not do this in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners. While we have removed some obstacles, others remain. But, like our fans, we continue to share the same sense of urgency to come to a resolution.
“Our team is fully dedicated to the re -unification. The only job we would regret is the one who threatens the essence of what Golf and PGA Tour play makes so exceptional.”
Thomas: Players exhausted by permanent negotiations
Former world no. 1 Justin Thomas believes that the players are exhausted by conversations about the future of the male game and admits that they remain insecure how the sport will look forward.
“I’m glad I don’t know anymore or I’m no longer invested because I think it would be mentally exhausting, physically exhausting,” Thomas said at his press conference before the tournament. “It would simply be exhausting.
“I think this is like the third time I played this tournament while this [talk about LIV] lasted in some way, shape or shape. I think we are kind of like a level of exhaustion.
“At least they don’t consume everything they ask us. You get a few things here and there. There are only so many of us, both of them at PGA Tour and I think the players are LIV, that we don’t really know what’s going on.
“We just play golf and hope for the best and because there is a lot of what we do not know and that we cannot control or do, letting it do.”
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