Rory McIlroy exits PGA Tour group chat after hearing Jordan Spieth’s latest comments about PIF deal.
Rory McIlroy has decided to exit a PGA Tour group conversation after finding out that Jordan Spieth believed a PIF agreement was no longer necessary due to the recent partnership between the circuit and Strategic Sports Group (SSG).
At the start of the week, the PGA Tour disclosed a $3 billion private investment in collaboration with SSG, a consortium of American investors headed by John Henry, who owns both Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox.
Tiger Woods paid tribute to SSG for their support of the PGA Tour and the game.
Spieth, a PGA Tour policy board member, had spent the last few months hashing out the finer details of this deal on behalf of the membership.
SSG has also helped to fund the launch of PGA Tour Enterprises, a new commercial venture for the PGA Tour that will give “close to 200 members” an opportunity to become equity holders in the circuit.
The agreement will see PGA Tour members receive $1.5 billion in immediate and future equity.
Spieth, alongside player directors Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott and Webb Simpson, voted unanimously for the deal.
But the latest update from the PGA Tour raises even more questions about their future, especially with the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF’s framework agreement deadline now extended until just before The Masters.
The PIF is the $700 billion treasure trove that is financing the LIV Golf League.
The deadline for the deal between them and the PGA Tour had been set for 31 December 2023 but the deadline has reportedly been pushed back until the end of March 2024.
Despite the delay in such an agreement, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan stated this week the door very much remains open for the PIF “subject to regulatory agreements”.
But not everyone is convinced the PGA Tour needs the PIF any more.
One of them is three-time major champion Spieth, who this week issued a rather blunt response about the deal in question.
Simpson also stated during discussions the PIF was “not a priority”.
When pressed by a reporter at Pebble Beach how important the PIF really is for the PGA Tour, Spith said: “I think it just depends.”
Spieth said he didn’t think PIF investment was needed. “The short answer is we don’t have to [bring them on board],” he said
Clearly choosing his words carefully, he added: “At this point if the PIF were interested in coming in on terms that our members like and/or the economic terms aren’t beyond SSG’s and they feel it would be a good idea, I think that’s where the discussions will start.”
But Spieth’s words have not sat well with McIlroy at all.
So much so, McIlroy has decided to remove himself from the PGA Tour group chat after hearing what policy board member Spieth had to say about the PIF.
McIlroy of course also walked out of the PGA Tour’s policy board at the end of 2023 to allow him to focus more on his golf game.
According to Sports Illustrated, four-time major champion McIlroy held an hour-long conversation with Spieth ahead of this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Spieth wanted to see if everything was okay with McIlroy after seeing he had left the group chat, while McIlroy wanted to get things off his chest.
“I just want to remove myself from the fray a little bit,” said McIlroy, who has made a compete U-turn on his feelings about Saudi investment on the PGA Tour in 2024.
“I talked to him [Spieth] about his comments, and we had a pretty frank discussion.”
Rory McIlroy adamant PGA Tour must strike deal with PIF.
McIlroy explained what he did not like much about Spieth’s latest comments about PIF.
If I were the initial investor who was planning to finalize this deal in July, I would be concerned and confused when I hear a board member saying that we no longer require their involvement. How would this statement impact their thoughts and emotions towards the situation?
“They continue to possess a significant amount of money, possibly in the range of hundreds of billions or even trillions, which they intend to invest in sports. I understand and fully grasp the message that Jordan conveyed, as well as his intentions behind it.
However, if I were the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and heard such words being spoken here, just after finalizing the SSG deal, I would not be particularly pleased, wouldn’t I?” McIlroy firmly believes that the PIF is crucial to the inclusion of the new PGA Tour Enterprises.
McIlroy emphasized that having PIF as a partner is essential in the game of golf and not having them is not an option.
“I think they’re committed to investing in golf and in the wider world of sport and if you can get them to invest their money the right way to unify the game of golf.”
What do you make of McIlroy’s dramatic U-turn where Saudi investment is concerned on the PGA Tour in 2024?