Specific details from the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) have finally begun to emerge.
Details of PGA Tour deal with LIV Golf leaked with stunning 18-event global world tour facelift
A report indicates that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf will join forces and stage 18 events around the world in 2025.
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Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
According to a report from the Daily Mail, an English outlet, an elite global golf tour featuring the world’s best players will commence in 2025.
The tour will stage 18 tournaments, with 12 of those events taking place in the United States.
Prize money for these marquee events would increase by roughly $25 million, as players from the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf would all be eligible to compete.
Golfers from each league would also be allowed to crossover and play on each tour, starkly contrasting how things currently stand in professional golf.
Since June 2022, the PGA Tour has suspended those who bolted to LIV Golf. The DP World Tour invoked the same principle and even barred LIV players from playing on the European Ryder Cup team.
But under the new structure, the PGA Tour will maintain control over all golf operations, something PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan emphasized during his press conference ahead of the Tour Championship.
“The PGA Tour is in the driver’s seat,” Monahan said on Aug. 22.
“Our commitment is to move from the divisive nature of the relationship we had to a productive one, for us to be able to make a fundamental transition to our business with the formation of NewCo, to have an investable entity for PIF to believe in and able to invest in that previously didn’t exist, for the PGA Tour to be in control of the future of men’s professional golf and for us to be partners.”
Monahan did not delve into what professional golf will look like beyond 2024 at the Tour Championship.
But the Daily Mail report seems to have unearthed some secrets. Whether this will be the structure remains to be seen, but it appears plausible based on discussions and other variables within the framework agreement.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
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