PGA-PIF talks ‘always evolving’, says Patrick Cantlay
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Patrick Cantlay of the US chips onto the 15th green during the third round of the British Open.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MEMPHIS – Sometimes no news is good news. When it comes to the trickle of information about the PGA Tour’s merger with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Patrick Cantlay would concur.
Cantlay, who sits on the PGA Tour policy board as a player-director, was asked on Aug 13 if those PGA-PIF negotiations had an end in sight after a few months of relatively little new information.
“Well, it’s definitely quieted down, and I agree with you, there hasn’t been as much chatter the last few months, which has been nice,” he said, ahead of this week’s St Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee.
“I think that’s just kind of the nature of it. There’s going to be ebbs and flows, depending on what kind of information comes out or what announcements.
“When you say ‘end in sight’, it’s always evolving. The PGA Tour has always been changing and trying to evolve and get better.
“But I know all of us are working incredibly hard all the time to get the best outcome.”
More than a year has passed since the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF (which finances the breakaway LIV Golf circuit) announced a “framework agreement” for a merger that shocked the sports world.
The parties blew past a self-imposed Dec 31, 2023 deadline to finalise the deal.
The only real news of the summer came in June, when PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan met with PGA Tour representatives in New York the week of the framework agreement’s one-year anniversary.
Asked again if the parties were close to the finishing line, Cantlay deflected the question.
“Yeah, I’m not on the transaction committee, so I’m not totally up to date with where everything is at currently,” he said.
“But whenever we do get a meaningful update, that’ll come back to the board, and then I’m sure we’ll have a discussion about it.”
The PGA Tour’s transaction sub-committee features Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Adam Scott of Australia.
McIlroy had said after the June meeting that he was encouraged by the progress, and that it was “very productive, very constructive, very collaborative” but that was as much as he gave away.
“Definitely things are heading in the right direction,” he added.
REUTERS
