Golf isn’t a sport that generates “this can’t be real” news, even considering the arrest of the world’s No. 1 player before his tee time at a major. But the most seismic “this must be fake” golf news in a decade came a year ago Thursday. That’s when the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund announced (after months of hard sparring in the media) that they had reached a “framework agreement” that would reshape men’s professional golf as we know it .
The two sides announced that they would end legal hostilities, that they would create a new combined organization to help lead golf into the next era, that everyone involved would make so much money, and that all of this would be done by December 31 have happened.
You probably don’t need a spoiler warning for this: except for the “so much money” part, none of that happened.
A year after the stunning announcement of the framework agreement – negotiated in secret by just a few principals and dropped on the heads of PGA Tour players without warning – professional men’s golf is stuck in a quagmire of its own making.
Looking back on the day’s first news, which we described as ‘stunning’, it is fascinating – but certainly not stunning – how few of the promises of that first announcement were kept:
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The Saudi PIF would become the sole financial investor in the new yet-to-be-formed commercial entity that would operate golf, with the right of first refusal for any additional investors. The PGA Tour neatly sidestepped that aspect with the January announcement that Strategic Sports Group, an entity made up of several U.S. professional sports owners, would invest $1.5 billion in the Tour. This move pushed the PIF from its “exclusive” financial position, perhaps forever.
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An early version of the framework agreement included a provision that neither side would poach players from the other; that provision was dropped due to antitrust concerns. But an informal hands-off agreement persisted… until the bombshell announcement in December that Jon Rahm would jump ship to LIV Golf. So much for working together towards a common goal.
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In fact, the PGA Tour and the PIF have not come together to devise a pathway for LIV Golf players to return to the PGA Tour after the 2023 season. Right now and for the foreseeable future, the only time Tour and LIV players will cross paths is at the four majors.
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Initial announcements did not mention a deadline for the deal’s completion, beyond a simple and wildly optimistic “few weeks.” The two sides went through a self-imposed deadline of December 31, then an informal deadline before the Masters, and now there is no deadline at all.
So what happened? The simple version is that power and money clashed, and everyone wanted a bigger share of both. We don’t really know what happens behind closed doors, but we can guess, based on the comments of those who have been in the room, even briefly.
The players, left out of the original agreement, have retaliated and demanded a much greater share of power towards the Tour. That, in turn, has strained relationships with existing Tour directors and board officials, tilting the board’s power toward the players. The Saudi incursion forced the PGA Tour to massively increase its purse strings across the board at its tournaments, and players are now happily reaping the rewards… for however long it lasts.
Jimmy Dunne, who helped craft the original framework agreement, resigned from the Tour’s policy board just before the PGA Championship, timing his moment for maximum media impact. Dunne indicated that “no meaningful progress” has been made on any form of agreement between the Tour and the PIF. Mark Flaherty, another board member, resigned shortly afterwards. The Tour’s player representatives, including Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay, continue to insist all is well, but their words don’t mean much in light of the actions of others.
In the meantime, LIV Golf continues to operate. In addition to welcoming Jon Rahm, the tour reintroduced Anthony Kim to the golf world after a twelve-year absence, then saw Bryson DeChambeau nearly swoop in and claim the PGA Championship. LIV golfers still don’t have a direct route to the majors through official rankings, but the majors have shown a willingness to invite LIV players to play anyway.
Few of the principals involved in this whole fuss have paid more than lip service to golf fans, with most falling back on the creaky old ‘grow the game’ rules. Fans have noticed that the sport’s focus seems to be focused on everything but the on-court experience and have tuned out. A compelling tournament – or the arrest of a compelling figure – may bring them back, but the trend is clear. One year after what should have been a momentous day in the sport’s history, golf still seems to be wandering the woods, looking for a wayward drive and wondering how it all went so sideways.
