MIAMI:
PGA Tour chief executive Jay Monahan said Tuesday he is confident of meeting a December 31 deadline to hammer out details of the tour’s merger with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Tour Championship playoff finale in Atlanta, Monahan said he expected a deal for the new circuit to be in place by January 1.
The PGA Tour stunned world golf in June after announcing a shock agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf aimed at ending the sport’s two-year civil war.
However firm details of how the “new collectively owned, for-profit entity” that will see the PGA Tour, Europe’s DP World Tour and LIV Golf merge have yet to be divulged.
Under the agreement signed by all sides in June, a December 31 deadline was set to finalise the details for the new circuit.
Despite ongoing scepticism, Monahan told reporters on Tuesday there was no reason to believe the deadline would not be met.
“As I sit here today, I’m confident we will reach an agreement that achieves a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and our fans – I see it and I’m certain of it,” Monahan said.
“We have put an end to the divisive and distracting litigation, we have safeguards that are in place to put the PGA Tour in a position to control our future.”
Asked if he believed a deal would be in place by January 1, Monahan replied: “We’re confident that we’re going to reach a positive outcome for the PGA Tour…I don’t have any reason to think that we won’t be successful.”
Monahan refused to be drawn on whether he believed the rebel LIV Golf circuit had a viable long-term future.
“I think there are a lot of questions that are specific questions that are going to come … as it relates to elements of what is in the framework agreement and elements of what we’re talking about,” Monahan said.
“I’m not going to talk publicly about them until we’ve completed those discussions and I can answer that question specifically and directly.”
Monahan meanwhile said he expects the PGA Tour to open 2024 with its traditional Sentry Tournament of Champions on Maui, despite devastating wildfires on the island that have left more than 100 people dead.
The Sentry tournament takes place at the Kapalua Golf Club’s Plantation Course on Maui each year, around 11 miles from Lahaina, the ocean-side town left in ruins during the fires.
However Monahan cautioned that any decision to play the tournament would be dependent on the good will of local authorities.
“At this point there’s so many unknowns, and we want to be respectful of the challenges,” Monahan said.
“We want to help be a part of the revitalization. There are a lot of considerations. If we’re allowed to, if we’re invited, if we’re embraced – given all that needs to be accomplished, we will be there 100 percent.
“But I think at this point right now that’s outside of our hands.”
