PGA Tour-PIF/LIV Golf deal: Bombshell (!) plans for 2025 LEAKED
Per a report, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's backers are mulling the idea of introducing a global tour from 2025 with an 18-event schedule.
Lightning appears to have struck in the PGA Tour's negotiations with the Saudi PIF over the 'framework agreement'.
Per Matt Hughes of the DailyMail, it has been reported the world's top golfers will be invited to play in a unified tour featuring 18 events.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF-backed LIV Golf would continue next year but the shakeup would begin in 2025.
Invitations to the events would be determined by world rankings, per the DM report, but wildcard entrants would be permitted.
It's important to remember the DM were the first to report Amanda Staveley had been drafted in as a go-between between the organisations.
Staveley sits on the Newcastle United board and is a close confidante of Yasir Al-Rumayyan with strong ties to the Middle East.
Al-Rumayyan is the chairman of Newcastle, is the governor of PIF and ,is thought to be the mastermind behind the LIV Golf League.
News of Staveley's involvement pre-dated the surprise 'merger' that was announced on 6 June to the shock of the world of professional sport.
Staveley previously touted the idea of giving Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy their own LIV Golf franchises.
The surprise announcement came after a year of unprecedented disruption in the world of men's professional golf.
The emergence of LIV Golf saw several of the game's biggest stars - such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith - leave the established tours for dizzying sums of money.
There was the added bonus of also playing for $25m purses. A host of Ryder Cup Europe legends also left.
The vague framework agreement resulted in an immediate end to all litigation between the parties.
The agreement was initially met with shock and anger from several golfers given that PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan had spent more than 12 months imploring players not to join a Saudi-backed enterprise.
He famously asked during coverage of the Canadian Open: "When was the last time you had to apologise for being a member of the PGA Tour?"
McIlroy later said he felt like a sacrificial lamb given as he had been one of LIV's biggest critics.
Woods was later drafted in to the PGA Tour's policy board, meaning players have far more power than ever before.
The PGA Tour-PIF agreement would need to be agreed by the players first. There is also another hurdle to overcome as the US government is probing the deal.
Monahan gave an update on the negotiations before the season-ending Tour Championship, insisting there was an urgency to get the deal signed off before the end of the year.
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