Mark SchlabachESPN Senior Writer Jul 13, 2023 2:44pm ET2 minutes read
Under pressure from antitrust authorities at the US Department of Justice, the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have agreed to remove a no-solicitation clause from their master agreement that prevented the tours from recruiting and poaching each other’s players, a PGA Tour Dies an official confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
The Justice Department has reviewed the framework agreement and raised concerns about the non-solicitation clause, the source told ESPN.
The PGA Tour briefed its board of directors on the development, which was first reported by the New York Times on Thursday.
The companies signed a master agreement on May 30 to combine their commercial assets into a new for-profit entity called NewCo. PGA Tour chief operating officer Ron Price told U.S. senators during a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that PIF is ready to invest more than $1 billion in the new commercial venture.
Under the terms of the master agreement, regardless of the size of the PIF investment, the PGA Tour will have a voting majority on the new company’s board of directors. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will serve as Chairman of the new entity; PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be CEO.
The deal is yet to be approved by the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, which includes five player directors, including Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay.
Even without the non-solicitation clause, it seems unlikely that a player would transfer from the PGA Tour to the LIV Golf League as the two companies negotiate the final details of their surprise alliance. LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said his league’s roster is full for the 2023 season and the future of the circuit, which features shotgun starts, team competitions and 54 holes, is uncertain at best.
If the deal goes through, the new company’s board would make a “good faith” assessment of LIV Golf, and Monahan would have the ultimate decision-making power over whether the golf course will play beyond this season.
PIF has spent more than $2 billion funding the LIV Golf League over the first two seasons. It lured past Major champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau with guaranteed multi-year deals reportedly worth more than $100 million.