Trump waits for the PGA Tour-Pif ‘Ribration’ meeting. What have we learned

As with all things PGA Tour and Saudi PIF, we will know more when we know more. But SOMETHING Important happened on Thursday at the White House that will affect the future of men’s professional golf.

Thursday’s meeting was actually the last in a series of significant things. President Trump began this meeting after a stretch in which he met with PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan and the Director of Tour player Adam Scott And later he played Golf with Tiger Woods. This time it was the whole governor above Plus Pif (and Liv Golf) Yasir al-Rumayyan who joined Trump in the White House (Al-Rumayyan, we are assuming, joined by distance). The meeting lasted for several hours and was accompanied by feverish speculation that some kind of preliminary deal could reach from the end of the day.

Instead, we received a brief statement from Monahan, Woods and Scott, who handed over what he called an “update” in a “constructive work session” with Trump and Al-Rumayyan.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we have begun a discussion about the reunification of golf,” Monahan said. “We are committed to moving as soon as possible and we will share additional details as appropriate.

“We share a passion for the game and the importance of reunification. Most importantly, we all want the best players in the world to play together more often and we are committed to doing everything we can to give it results to fans. “

That’s not much – but it’s nothing.

First there is protection. from Al-rumayyanReferring here as “he”, his excellence. Trump, who was once again thanked clearly for his leadership; Those involved in these meetings have made a point to publicly kiss the ring.

There is also a double concentration in reunion. “Ribration” and an “important” version are each used several times. If you are rolling your eyes asking what these two sides of the last two years have done, this is more than right. But this comes in the wake of increasingly secure remarks from Monahan, Woods, Scott and others.

However, what remains unanswered is the biggest question all the time: what happens with two shifts? The statement uses “the best players in the world who play the most often” as a northern star, but this is a requirement that can be satisfied with the folding of Livi under PGA Tour or a type of side-by-side with two tours with two tours. system. PGA Tour’s side is clear that the ultimate goal is a unified tour, but Al-Rumayyan has put so much in Liv and believes so deeply in Team Golf that a compromise will necessarily include a type of knot in the Tour Breakaway.

What is clear from the whole proceeding is just as the landscape has moved within a few years. All negotiating parties are stimulated to find common ground; Anyone can claim a victory if they do so.

Whatever the role of Livi in ​​the future of men’s golf pro for men, Al-Rumayyan and the Saudis have taken the place at the table they wanted and are closer than ever to invest in PGA Tour, an action that would come they side by side with StrategicA high -power collection of electricity sports owners. This is an important moment in normalizing Saudi investment in sports.

Monahan and the tournament of the tournament can take pleasure at collecting professional golf again; While we do not know what it looks like we can assume that some of the best benefits the tour fans have lost – think Bryson Dechambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, take your choice – will be in Condition to participate in the tournaments of the tournament, whether this year or another.

There are Woods and Scott and the rest of the players who joined to stabilize PGA Tour during a time of great uncertainty; They can claim the victory by knowing that their tour will come during this changed and beaten period and reformulates potentially – but ultimately preserved.

And there is Trump, who lives and breathes golf and has extensive business relations with the tournament, with Liv and Saudi Arabia. This is his world; In a public appearance after the meeting, he led a “Ti-Ger” cheer and shower praise for Scott (“I have always tried to swing like Adam, she never worked that way”) and he would like nothing more much than to be the toast of the game.

Promotions line up. Meetings continue. The questions remain.