Right now, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy don’t agree on whether or not the PGA Tour should work with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
While McIlroy thinks the tour should keep talking with the PIF, Spieth doesn’t think it’s necessary. The PIF is a national wealth fund that funds LIV Golf.
His comment came the same day that the PGA Tour announced a deal to work with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG). The SSG is made up of American owners of professional sports teams. They will spend up to $3 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises, a new for-profit company.
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“I don’t think that [an agreement with PIF] was needed,” Spieth said before the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week.
“At this point, I think the talks will begin if the PIF wants to join on terms that our members like and/or if the economic terms are at or below SSGs.”
Three days after Spieth said these things on Wednesday, McIlroy called the two-time major winner. Alex Miceli of Sports Illustrated says that also took himself out of a text message group with other top tour players.
McGilroy said, “I just want to step back a bit from the fight.” “I talked to him about what he said.” We had a pretty honest talk about it.”
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In the fall, Spieth took over for McIlroy on the PGA Tour Policy Board after the Northern Irishman quit.
“If I’m the investor who thought they were going to close this deal in July and now I hear a board member say that we don’t really need them, what are they going to think and feel about that?” He talked about his call with Spieth.
“They are still out there with hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars that they plan to spend on our sport.” I know exactly what Spieth was trying to say and what he was saying. But I don’t think that would have made PIF too happy if they heard that from here the day after the SSG deal, would it?”
In the beginning of the week, McIlroy changed his mind about the Saudi PIF and LIV Golf. In simple terms, McIlroy wants golf to get back together.
The golf star said on Tuesday, “I’ve changed my mind about that because I see where golf is.”
“Anything that makes the PGA Tour, LIV Tour, or anything else less interesting is bad for everyone.” To help the game, it would be better to stick together and move forward as a team. That’s what I think about it.”
I don’t think Spieth wants the sport to be divided either; he just has a different take on the present talks between the tour and the players.
Still, these different points of view show the whole tour. At Pebble Beach, more than one player has said that. But as the next few months go by, the PGA Tour needs to make sure that its members are up-to-date, active, and informed. If it doesn’t, it will keep losing users to LIV, which will lower the value of its product and make its new investors sad.
