PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has provided an important update on the PIF deal after their recent meeting in New York. According to the memo released, talks are still ongoing with the Saudi-backed fund, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
On Tuesday, June 18, the PGA Tour policy board and the PGA Tour Enterprises board of directors held a joint meeting in Hartford, Connecticut. Following the meeting, Monahan sent a memo to tour players, giving a major update on the talks with PIF.
Monahan stated that, while they couldn’t negotiate in public, they were making progress. The memo stated:
“Two weeks ago, members of our PGA TOUR Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee met in New York with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Governor of the PIF, as well as members of his team. During that meeting, we reached consensus on several items, but both parties recognize that there is still work to do to reach a final agreement.”
“Our talks are ongoing, with the goal of developing a shared vision for the future of professional golf that is pro-competitive and provides players with the best global opportunities.”
It further read that the player directors had been crucial in the process, and their insights were significant toward getting a positive result.
PGA Tour gives lifetime exemption to Tiger Woods for Signature events
Following the meeting in Connecticut, the PGA Tour also declared that Tiger Woods would be receiving a lifetime exemption for the Signature events. For this, the Tour created a special “sponsor exemption” category for the veteran golfer’s outstanding achievements in professional golf.
Woods has won 82 titles on the Tour, including 15 major championships. He hasn’t played much in recent times and has made only a couple of starts outside the majors in the past two seasons.
Woods has played four events this season and has only made the cut at the Masters Tournament. He also broke the record for the most consecutive cuts made at Augusta National.
The 48-year-old golfer was last seen at the US Open, where he missed the weekend. He will next compete at the Open Championship, which will be played at Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland from July 18 to July 21.
As for the Tour, it will head to Cromwell, Connecticut, for the Travelers Championship, the last signature event of the season. The tournament will feature 71 players competing on all four days since it is a no-cut event. This will be the fifth no-cut event of the season. For the uninitiated, only three signature events have a 36-hole cut.
