PGA TOUR Commissioner Details How Golf Will Operate Post Merger

PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan has been at the helm of the biggest promotion in professional golf for some time, but it took a meeting with the President to finally get things moving along between it and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Monahan sat down with reporters yesterday and detailed the meeting the PGA TOUR had with President Donald Trump last week, which he called “really productive.”

But the PGA TOUR’s frontman let out an interesting tidbit that seems to portray what he feels the future of professional golf will look like after it merges with the PIF and LIV Golf (via Sports Illustrated):

“For him [President Trump] to respond to our request to sit down and talk about how we achieve what he stated publicly as a goal, which is the game of golf operating under one tour with all the top players playing on that one tour, was a great opportunity. We had a really productive conversation.”

Monahan seems to be insinuating that professional golf will be operating under a single tour, instead of the separation we see now. Whether that means LIV Golf will go away or the PGA TOUR will completely relinquish its name and move into a new conglomeration with its once-heated rival, well, those details have not been expanded upon.

Monahan with PIF Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan (ESPN)

What we do know is there are rumblings internally that a financial deal has already been or will be reached by the end of the first quarter. That gives the parties involved roughly a month and a half to figure out what the stipulations of the money side of things are.

This does not necessarily mean that the terms of the merger will be established. Although it seems silly to think that an agreement on financial terms would not come with other stipulations, there is plenty of ironing out to do regarding the future of both tours.

Rory McIlroy said recently that President Trump admitted to him during a recent round of golf that he is “not a fan of the LIV format.” Despite Trump’s golf courses hosting several LIV events over the past few years, he apparently admitted to the former World #1 and current World #3 that he is not super interested in how LIV carries things:

Here’s Rory McIlroy on his round with President Trump in early January

“I learnt that he’s not a fan of the LIV format…” pic.twitter.com/scjyIndRO9

— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) February 12, 2025

This is just one of the many details that will need to be worked out in the coming months. Although LIV might not have a preferred format, it does not struggle with pace of play in its promotion, which has been a thorn in the side of the PGA TOUR for some time.

Traditional golf, which is how the PGA TOUR is played, certainly needs some modernization. The two tours will have to iron out what elements of each will be acceptable if it ultimately merges into one tour as Monahan suggests.

Cover Image via The Florida Times Union