It’s May 6th, just one month away from an important day in professional golf.
You may have forgotten, but on June 6, 2023, the PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and the Governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, announced an agreement on CNBC.
It was called the Farmwork Agreement, and it was, at the time, a guiding document for a final agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
In the 23 months since its announcement, the agreement has been tossed into the garbage can of history as the two sides have not come close to a settlement and readily admit, the Framework Agreement is now not worth the paper it was written on.
Instead, the 23 months have been full of fits and starts, including numerous meetings in the Oval Office and has included the guidance of President Donald Trump.
Reporting progress or non-progress has been difficult, with
much information gathered mainly through rumors and unsubstantiated reports.
But the last rumor, that came out of the Oval Office, may explain a lot.
It was a meeting with Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Monahan, Al-Rumayyan, and Trump.
According to rumors, the meeting didn’t go well, with Al-Rumayyan walking out of the Oval in disgust.
On February 20, the PGA Tour issued the statement below about the meeting.
“We have just concluded a constructive working session at the White House with President Trump and H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, we have initiated a discussion about the reunification of golf. We are committed to moving as quickly as possible and will share additional details as appropriate.
We share a passion for the game and the importance of reunification. Most importantly, we all want the best players in the world playing together more often and are committed to doing all we can to deliver that outcome for our fans.”
The statement was the last word spoken on the subject by either side.
What is extremely clear is that a deal is no closer than when LIV Golf launched its first event outside of London on June 9, 2022.
Both sides do not seem to see a need for a deal.
With the clock ticking, the urgency that seemed to manifest itself just 23 months ago is no longer there.
Now, the situation seems more like a wait-and-see affair, with both sides unwilling to abandon their intractable positions and leaving professional golf in an odd limbo.
June 6, 1944, was the beginning of the end of World War II as Allied troops invaded five D-Day beaches in Normandy, France.
This June 6th will only serve as a reminder of D-Day and nothing else.
Related: Jay Monahan Offers Murky Outlook Over PGA Tour Agreement With Saudi PIF
Related: Rory McIlroy Sees Worldwide Golf as Part of the LIV Discussions
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