Unpacking PGA Tour player director, PIF meeting | Golf Central | Golf Channel

Todd Lewis and Steve Burkowski discuss the latest on the meeting between PGA Tour policy board player directors and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. #GolfChannel #GolfCentral #PGATourpolicyboard
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Unpacking PGA Tour player director, PIF meeting | Golf Central | Golf Channel
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>>> WELCOME BACK TO “GOLF CENTRAL.” >>> LAST WEEK PATRICK CANTLAY, A PLAYER ON THE — PLAYER DIRECTOR ON THE PGA TOUR POLICY BOARD, CONFIRMED THAT A GROUP OF PGA TOUR PLAYERS WERE PLANNING TO MEET WITH THE HEAD OF SAUDI ARABIA’S PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND

IN AN EFFORT TO CONTINUE TO BROKER A DEAL BETWEEN THE TOUR AND THE SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND KNOWN AS PIF. ON SUNDAY NIGHT RORY McILROY WAS ASKED FOR HIS OPINION ON THIS MEETING. >> RORY, THERE’S BEEN CONCERN THERE’S A MEETING TOMORROW WITH THE PLAYER DIRECTORS AND PIF.

DO YOU WELCOME THAT AND WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN THERE? >> ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED MONTHS AGO, SO I’M GLAD THAT IT IS HAPPENING. YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY THAT PROGRESSES CONVERSATIONS AND GETS US CLOSER TO A SOLUTION. >> DOES TIGER NEED TO BE

INVOLVED IN THAT YOU THINK, AT THIS POINT? IS THAT — >> I MEAN HE IS A PLAYER DIRECTOR. HE IS ON THE BOARD SO ABSOLUTELY HE NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED. >> [ INAUDIBLE QUESTION ] WHAT DO YOU HOPE THEY TAKE FROM THAT MEETING? >> THE PLAYERS OR THE PIF?

>> THE PLAYERS. >> THE PLAYERS? THAT FUNDAMENTALLY HE WANTS TO DO THE RIGHT THING. I THINK, I SAID THIS BEFORE, I HAVE SPENT TIME WITH YASIR AND HIS — THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE REPRESENTED HIM IN LIV I THINK HAVE DONE HIM A DISSERVICE.

SO NORMAN AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE GUYS. I DON’T — YOU KNOW, I SEE THE TWO ENTITIES AND I THINK THERE’S A BIG — I ACTUALLY THINK THERE’S A BIG DISCONNECT BETWEEN PIF AND LIV. YOU HAVE PIF OVER THERE AND LIV ARE SORT OF RIGHT THERE DOING

THEIR OWN THING. SO THE CLOSER THAT WE CAN GET TO YASIR, PIF AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY FINALIZE THAT INVESTMENT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WILL BE A REALLY GOOD THING. >> AS WE SAY HELLO AGAIN TO TODD LEWIS AND STEVE BURKOWSKI. OKAY, TODD, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US

ABOUT THIS MEETING AND WHAT DID IT MEAN FOR A FUTURE AGREEMENT PERHAPS BETWEEN PIF AND THE PGA TOUR? >> ON BOTH SIDES, THEY’RE KEEPING THIS CLOSE TO THE VEST AND YOU UNDERSTAND WHY. THEY WANT TO NOT NEGOTIATE IN PUBLIC, BUT FROM WHAT I

UNDERSTAND THIS IS JUST GOING TO BE PUTTING A FACE TO A NAME IN REGARDS TO THE PGA TOUR PLAYERS THAT ARE THERE, THAT ARE PART OF THE PGA TOUR POLICY BOARD. TIGER WOODS WAS NOT IN THE FIELD HERE AT THE PLAYERS. HE IS THE ONLY PLAYER DIRECTOR

FROM THE PGA TOUR POLICY BOARD NOT IN THE FIELD, SO I UNDERSTAND HE IS NOW IN ALBANY MEETING AS WELL. THIS IS, AGAIN, JUST A FORMAL HELLO AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER’S INTENTIONS, WHICH I UNDERSTAND FROM BOTH SIDES IS TO TRY TO GET A DEAL DONE.

NOW, YOU MAY THINK THAT THE PGA TOUR SEEMS DESPERATE TO GET A DEAL DONE WITH THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND OF SAUDI ARABIA. THAT MAY BE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE OUT THERE, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT PIF, THEY WANT TO BE A PART

OF THE PGA TOUR AS WELL. IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE DOING, FIRST OFF, THEY HAVE HEMORRHAGED A LOT OF MONEY, A LOT OF MONEY. THEY CANNOT GET ANY COMMERCIAL BUSINESS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, CAN’T GET ANY TRACTION THERE BECAUSE OF WHERE THE MONEY

IS COMING FROM, COMPANIES ARE REALLY HESITANT TO LATCH THEMSELVES ON TO LIV GOLF. SECONDLY, THEY JUST DON’T HAVE THE POPULARITY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES COMPARED TO THE PGA TOUR. THEIR VIEWERSHIP, A FRACTION OF WHAT IT IS ON THE PGA TOUR. SO THEY WOULD LIKE TO LEGITIMACY

AND GETTING TOGETHER WITH THE PGA TOUR WOULD HELP THEM DO SO. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THERE ARE THREE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE BIG DISCUSSION POINTS IF THIS DEAL IS GOING TO GET DONE. NUMBER ONE, OF COURSE, HOW MUCH MONEY IS GOING TO BE INVESTED.

NUMBER TWO, WHERE DOES THE TEAM ASPECT COME INTO PLAY WITH THE SAUDIS AND YASSIVE AL RUMAYYAN, THE GOVERNOR OF THE FUND. HE WANTS TO HAVE A TEAM WITH PGA TOUR ENTERPRISES. CERTAINLY THE PATHWAY BACK FOR LIV GOLFERS TO PLAY ON THE

PGA TOUR, THAT MAY BE THE BIGGEST THING THEY HAVE TO DISCUSS. THERE’S A LOT OF — THERE’S A LOT OF FRICTION ON THE PGA TOUR. IT DEPENDS ON WHICH PLAYER YOU TALK TO IN REGARDS TO HOW THAT THOSE PLAYERS FROM LIV GOLF

WOULD GET BACK ON THE PGA TOUR IF, INDEED, THAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. >> FASCINATING STUFF. LAST TUESDAY, OF COURSE, PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER JAY MONAHAN MET WITH THE MEDIA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS, AND IT CAME TO MIXED REVIEWS. WITH THE ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS

HAPPENING THEN BEHIND THE DOORS EVEN AS LATE AS TODAY, IT IS AN INTERESTING TIME FOR THE COMMISSIONER AND CERTAINLY HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH PLAYERS. OF COURSE, MULTIPLE PLAYERS HAVE EXPRESSED A LOT OF OPINIONS ACROSS A BROAD ARRAY OF WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THE JOB

PERFORMANCE OF JAY MONAHAN. SO, BURKO, FROM FRUSTRATION TO CLAIMS OF BEING LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP, I’M CURIOUS WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE ABOUT WHERE THE PLAYERS ARE. STARS OR RANK OF FILE IN TERMS OF SOFTENING OF THE HEART OR HARDENING OF THEIR HEARTS WHEN

IT COMES TO JAY MONAHAN? >> I THINK IT IS FATIGUE, MATT. I THINK FOR ALL OF THE PLAYERS AT ONE LEVEL OR ANOTHER, FOR US IN THE MEDIA, WE WERE CLAMORING TO HEAR WHAT COMMISSIONER JAY MONAHAN WOULD SAY, AND A LOT OF

THE PLAYERS — LIKE, HE IS IN A NO-WIN SITUATION. SOME HAVE BEEN VERY UP FRONT, HONEST, SAYING HE HAD WORK TO DO TO EARN MY TRUST BACK. JAY MONAHAN HAS REFERENCED THE FACT HE HAS NOT HANDLED THINGS PERFECTLY, THAT HE DOES HAVE TO

WIN THE TRUST OF SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST AND THE RANK AND FILE AS WELL. I THINK AFTER AN HOUR OF JAY MONAHAN IN THE PRESS CENTER LAST WEEK, I LEFT WITH MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS. I UNDERSTAND THE FACTS, TODD TOUCHED ON IT. WHEN YOU HAVE NEGOTIATIONS OF

THIS LEVEL — AND JAY SAID IT POINT-BLANK. WE CAN’T ANSWER WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR RIGHT NOW, THESE ARE BEHIND-CLOSED-DOORS, WHICH IS SOME, YOU KNOW, HALF DOZEN, DOZEN INTEGRAL PARTS OF A POTENTIAL FORMATION MOVING FORWARD. BUT THE PLAYERS, THE CONSENSUS FOR ME, THEY’RE LIKE, I’LL

BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT HAS TAKEN THIS LONG. THERE HASN’T BEEN A LOT OF LOVE, IF YOU WILL, FOR WE LOVE THE DIRECTION. WE JUST HEARD RORY FROM YESTERDAY, SUNDAY AFTER THE PLAYERS, YOU COULD SEE HE WAS ALMOST EXHAUSTED ANSWERING IT.

THE ANSWERS WERE A LITTLE SHORT. IT IS ABOUT TIME. IT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO. MAYBE SOMETHING TODAY CAN BE A SPRINGBOARD TO MOVING FORWARD, BUT AS TODD AND I BOTH KNOW, NEGOTIATIONS OF THIS LEVEL, WHILE WE MIGHT WANT ANSWERS AND

A RESOLUTION IT IS GOING TO TAKE MUCH LONGER THAN I BELIEVE MOST EXPECT. AS A WHOLE, THE PLAYERS ARE DONE TALKING ABOUT IT. THEY JUST WANT TO GO PLAY GOLF. >> YEAH, I THINK NO DOUBT THAT THE PLAYERS ARE FATIGUED AND THEY — FOR A LOT OF REASONS,

THEY FEEL LIKE THERE’S SOME TRUST THAT NEEDS STILL TO BE REBUILT. WE HEARD XANDER SCHAUFFELE TALK ABOUT THAT EARLIER IN THE WEEK. AT THE SAME TIME IF YOU LOOK AT HOW FRACTURED THIS SPORT IS, A LOT OF THE PLAYERS THAT I HAVE

TALKED TO ARE STARTING TO TURN AROUND AND SAY, OKAY, LOOK, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE THIS OUT WITH THE SAUDIS AND MAYBE THE DEAL IS PROBABLY THE BEST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN. JAY MONAHAN, YOU KNOW, HE HAS BEEN INVOLVED SINCE THE

BEGINNING, I’M GOING TO TRUST HIM AND THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM TO TRY TO MAKE — TO TRY TO GET THIS DONE. I DON’T THINK THERE IS AS MUCH VENOM TOWARDS JAY MONAHAN AS IT WAS A SUMMER AGO, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, I DIDN’T

THINK HE DID A BAD JOB. BURKO SAID HE COULDN’T NEGOTIATE IN PUBLIC. HE SPOKE, IT SEEMS LIKE, WITH AUTHORITY. HE IS TRYING TO DO THE BEST FOR THE MEMBERSHIP AND WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SEE. JAY MONAHAN’S LEGACY WILL BE PLAYED OUT RIGHT NOW ON WHAT HE

DOES WITH THE SAUDIS AND THE FIELD AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PGA TOUR AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TWO YEARS FROM NOW. >> IT WILL BE VERY, VERY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT COMES OUT OF THIS, AND PERHAPS THE