Jay Monahan, Guy Kinnings and Yasir Al-Rumayyan were all smiles today as they were pictured together in public for the first time at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but are the three any nearer to completing a deal to heal the fractures in the game?
The respective leaders of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund are the key players in the ongoing talks behind the scenes to bring the game together once again.
While there haven’t been many updates on the talks in recent months, there is hope that with the three men all together in Scotland this week, they can finally end 15 months of discussions and get an agreement over the line.
Two-time DP World Tour Championship winner Rory McIlory is certainly one of those who sees this week’s unified approach as a positive sign things are heading in the right direction.
“There’s no better place than the home of golf to try and get everyone together and talking,” McIlroy told BBC Sport NI.
“I think it’s a great thing and good sign that Jay and Yasir are playing together. And obviously you’ve got quite a big contingent over from LIV that are playing in this event.”
Asked about how quickly a resolution can be reached, McIlroy added that he hoped “before year’s end” but he was quick to point out it’s a “pretty complicated deal”.
“Maybe it’s going too slow for the people that follow golf. In the business world, deals of this size take time. You are talking about billions of dollars changing hands, different jurisdictions.
“I think we’ll know a lot more by year’s end. We’re in October so hopefully [there’s] three months to get something done.”
Recent reports suggest that the payouts players received for joining LIV Golf are a potential obstacle in their return to the PGA Tour, though there’s no official indication that negotiations have run into issues.
