On June 6, 2023, the PGA Tour and its newest competitor, LIV Golf’s financial backers, PIF, announced a merger deal. The surprising merger agreement left the entire golfing fraternity in shock. Although some of the players and experts were in favor, some were totally against it. While the two parties mutually decided December 31, 2023, as the deadline date to finalize the merger agreement, six months into 2024, the deal is still under development.
Nobody from either side has come out to speak on the status of the deal. However, ahead of the John Deere Classic, Jordan Spieth dismissed the questions on the topic and said, “That is an extremely loaded question that I could get in a lot of trouble answering.”
Jordan Spieth Hints On How Long It Might Take For PGA Tour and PIF To Close a Deal
Spieth, who replaced Rory McIlroy as one of the six originally appointed Player Directors in November 2023, is part of the PGA Tour Policy Board that overlooks the merger negotiations. He assured that the deal between the two parties was still underway and hinted that it might take more time than expected. While speaking in the pre-tournament press conference, he said,
Obviously, if anything can be done right and done sooner, that’s great. But I would rather see it done correctly and done the right way for golf going forward for the longest amount of time regardless of how long that takes to get there.
Notably, Jordan Spieth isn’t the only authoritative figure who has denied speaking on the details of the PGA Tour-PIF merger deal status. According to Amy Rogers’ recent X post, the Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has previously said “he wouldn’t negotiate in the media and said talks remain ongoing.”
However, is the so-called “framework agreement” between the PGA Tour and PIF still in progress? It is noteworthy that the Northern American golf circuit has already stuck a $3 billion deal with Strategic Sports Group. So, if they need LIV Golf’s financial backers in the new PGA Tour Enterprises, it is still a mystery!
