Going back to the earliest days of the concept that would eventually become LIV Golf, there had been talks of the Saudi Public Investment Fund -- the overwhelming owners of LIV Golf -- trying to purchase the DP World Tour and its parent, European Tour Group.
The thought was the Saudis could buy one of the biggest men's golf tours in the world -- the one that's truly global in nature -- and then sit LIV Golf over top of it as a superior league with promotion and relegation, as well as Official World Golf Ranking implications.
Ultimately, that never happened. The PGA Tour had developed what has been dubbed a "strategic alliance" with the DP World Tour, including purchasing a sizable stake in the DP World Tour's production arm, European Tour Productions, and promising to subsidize purse increases for the circuit.
However, as the 18-month mark approaches since the shocking announcement of the Framework Agreement between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour, the progress toward consummating a final deal has been slow.
Now, it seems, that the DP World Tour is entertaining a deal of its own.
According to Bloomberg, the DP World Tour's parent and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, via LIV Golf, are discussing a deal between those two entities. The deal, as sketched out by Bloomberg, would include significant financial subsidies for the DP World Tour, while the DP World Tour would offer easier pathways for LIV Golf players to go between circuits when the 14-event LIV Golf League isn't being played. There would be other components of such a deal, of course, but those are the highlights.
Talk of such a deal is surprising, but the Saudis have previously made similar overtures that the DP World Tour has ultimately refused. LIV Golf has announced most of its 2025 schedule, with an emphasis on international events taking up some two-thirds of the events. The DP World Tour has similarly laid out its globetrotting 2025 docket. Nothing could change that quickly so as to impact this coming year, but such a deal could take shape for 2026.
The concept of a deal conjures a variety of questions, including how the PGA Tour would feel about such a deal. After all, the PGA Tour is a "strategic partner" of the DP World Tour, own a significant share of European Tour Productions, subsidize their purses and offer 10 PGA Tour cards to the DP World Tour's up-and-coming players each season.
Then again, the PGA Tour has agreed to take on as much as $3 billion in capital from Strategic Sports Group to its new for-profit subsidiary, PGA Tour Enterprises. How much of that -- perhaps, beyond continued subsidies -- would eventually get to the DP World Tour is unclear.
For the Saudis, a separate deal with the DP World Tour makes sense, even if there's eventually another deal with the PGA Tour. Any deal with the PGA Tour will be subject to Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission scrutiny. Even in a merger-friendlier second Trump administration, that process could take time or be scuttled altogether. The DP World Tour also owns a significant share of the Ryder Cup, in which the PGA Tour does not have any ownership stake.
Further, PGA Tour Enterprises could eventually take on more capital so as to overwhelm any potential Saudi investment. While Saudi PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan could ultimately negotiate for a chairmanship and critical PGA Tour Enterprises positions, that doesn't mean he couldn't be outmanuevered by other investors to limit his influence. In other words, the DP World Tour could prove an insurance policy of sorts. LIV Golf, with Greg Norman set to be replaced as CEO, could operate more efficiently in an alliance than as a combined force.
The Asian Tour could be impacted by all of this as well. They have been the beneficiaries of a large-scale investment by the Saudis into their circuit, including the International Series, which is played within the Asian Tour schedule and offers a LIV Golf League spot annually to its Order of Merit winner. Were there to be a Saudi deal with the DP World Tour, it's fair to question if the Asian Tour would still get the same support as part of an originally announced 10-year deal or if that would be scaled back or eliminated altogether. Perhaps the Asian Tour could become positioned as more of a formal feeder to the DP World Tour.
There also has to be some thought that this is yet another form of these tours negotiating in public, even though they'd swear up and down that they're not. With this outline of a deal and the quid pro quo laid out, it could be a way of communicating the potential next step if things go awry between the Saudis and the PGA Tour.
The biggest problem with such a deal, though, may be for the fan. Nearly a year and a half ago, the Framework Agreement seemed to signal an eventual reunification of the men's pro game. Few on the outside probably expected it to take this long or seem this messy, though there's a lot more at work here than it would seem. If that kumbaya doesn't happen now, though, and the end result is a different kind of fracturing, the fan likely comes out the loser and may feel even more alienated in the end.
