The good news is that there is a potential timeline for the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to come to a merger agreement that is beginning to be tossed around in serious conversations. The bad news is that the timeline includes the year 2026.
Back in April, DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings explained that he, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, and PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan had spoken to each other over the past handful of months, but never in the same room. The DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, is involved in the framework agreement that was originally introduced on June 6, 2023.
READ: PGA Tour Strikes $3 Billion Deal With American Investment Group Begging The Question If Saudi PIF Merger Ever Happens
While Kinnings largely shared the same message everyone else in power has shared about ‘discussions are ongoing’ and ‘we’re hoping to come to an agreement soon,’ he did specifically mention the year 2026.
“So, from my perspective, all I want to do is make sure we as quickly as possible get the right people around a table to talk about what can a future look like,” Kinnings told The Scotsman. “I don’t expect them to go in knowing all the answers. There’s lots of things have to get worked at. What does the product look like, probably from 2026 and beyond? What’s the pathway? What does it mean for things?”
It’s worth noting that an agreement between the Saudis and both tours could come to terms before 2026, but that’s the year Kinnings suggested for when the new age of professional golf could unfold.
Jay Monahan didn't reveal many details about the PGA Tour's talks with Saudi PIF. John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
With 2026 still 18 months away, which feels like forever, this potential timeline won’t please golf fans who have long since grown tired of this seemingly endless back-and-forth debate.
However, Rory McIlroy thinks it would be fine to wait another 18 months.
“It’s not going to happen overnight, and there’s going to have to be compromises on both sides,” McIlroy told Garrett Johnson on Beyond the Clubhouse. “2026, if it means we only have a year and a half left and 2026 looks a little different, I actually think that’s a pretty good timeline given all the issues that need to be addressed.”
While the divide in professional golf remains a hot topic in the sport right now, it seems like the game of golf itself has moved back into the spotlight over the past few months. Players, fans and media alike are tired of letting the question of “when will it be done” dominate every conversation.
If we don't have a clear answer to what professional golf will look like in another 18 months, then this war will become a war of attrition, which has already dragged on for too long.
