Rory McIlroy Sees 2026 As A Positive Timeline For PGA Tour - Saudi PIF Merger To Finally Take Place
The good news is that there is a potential timeline for the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to come to a merger agreement that is beginning to be tossed around in serious conversations. The bad news is that the timeline includes the year 2026.
Back in April, DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings explained that he, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, and PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan had spoken to each other over the past handful of months, but never in the same room. The DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, is involved in the framework agreement that was originally introduced on June 6, 2023.
While Kinnings largely shared the same message everyone else in power has shared about ‘discussions are ongoing’ and ‘we’re hoping to come to an agreement soon,' he did specifically mention the year 2026.
"So, from my perspective, all I want to do is make sure we as quickly as possible get the right people around a table to talk about what can a future look like," Kinnings told The Scotsman. "I don’t expect them to go in knowing all the answers. There’s lots of things have to get worked at. What does the product look like, probably from 2026 and beyond? What’s the pathway? What does it mean for things?"
It's worth noting that an agreement between the Saudis and both tours could come to terms before 2026, but that's the year Kinnings suggested for when the new age of professional golf could unfold.
Jay Monahan has not shared too many details about negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF. John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
With 2026 still 18 months away and feeling like forever from now, that potential timeframe won't please golf fans who have long grown tired of this back-and-forth that seems to have no end.
Rory McIlroy, however, believes waiting another 18 months would be just fine.
"This thing isn't just going to happen overnight and there's going to have to be compromises made on both sides," McIlroy told Garrett Johnson on Beyond the Clubhouse. "2026, if that means we've just got a year-and-a-half left of this and 2026 looks a little different, I actually think that's a pretty good timeline considering all of the things that have to be worked out."
While the divide in professional golf is still the top talking point in the game at the moment, it has over the past few months felt like the actual golf being played has been brought back near the spotlight. Players, fans, and media alike are tired of letting the ‘when is this going to be done’ question lead every conversation.
Going another 18 months without a clear-cut answer as to what professional golf may look like is going to be a battle of attrition in a war that is already very much dragging along.