As the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s self-imposed December 31 deadline approaches, PGA Tour veteran Davis Love III has confirmed his title as leader from the clubhouse for golf’s worst-kept secret – the deal isn’t done. time soon.
“The only thing I know is that nothing is going to happen very quickly,” Love said in an interview Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where he was meeting on a golf course project.
Asked if he thought a deal beyond the framework agreement announced on June 6 would be reached by the end of the year, he replied: “I don’t see any not the possibility.”
But Love is not discouraged. He said the Tour was once again focused on determining what was best for players and that he valued their options.
“It forced us to look at what happened for 53 years and think about what the next 50 years will look like,” he said. “How can we prepare our business for the future?” »
It also gave him a new perspective on players who jumped ship and accepted lucrative guaranteed money offers to join the new LIV Tour.
“I told some of them that from the beginning. I’m not against you as a person, I’m against what’s happening and I think you’re making a bad business decision,” Love said. “Jay tried to explain it to these guys, you sign with our competitor and give our competitor leverage that is going to hurt our ability to make decisions and our financial situation. You don’t really understand that it’s not just about playing this golf tournament or that.
“I am still opposed to this being a hostile takeover. These guys signed with a company that’s trying to take over us. If a group of guys left Pepsi and went to Coca-Cola and tried to take over Pepsi, would you ever let them come back to Pepsi? I do not think so. It may not be a perfect comparison, but they sued us to force us to change our rules to get what they wanted.
But what should the future of the Tour look like? Love said it was the hot topic in the halls of PGA Tour headquarters and with the board of directors. As the longest-serving member of the PGA Tour Board of Directors and one of the Tour’s elder statesmen, Love was recalled to his duties as a member of a small governance committee “ad hoc” to ensure this is a priority.
“I’ve come back into board conversations and I’m learning more and more. This is so much deeper than what should get (LIV) points in the world rankings. There’s a lot I don’t know, but I know there’s nothing happening right now, other than where do we want to go? he said. “We may have failed the last three years, now how can we prepare the PGA Tour for the future? Is there a different model? We are independent contractors, maybe we are not independent contractors? The charges are dropped; now what do we want to do, what does (the PIF) want to do? Do they really want to continue spending so much money on LIV? Probably not.”
Love suggested that the reason a deal might not be reached before the deadline was due to the Saudis’ reluctance to negotiate.
“It’s like the trial: we will never go to trial if they don’t do the preliminary investigation. Our staff and our players made a discovery. They refused.
“We made an offer,” Love continued, referring to the Tour, “and if you never communicate, we can’t make another offer. It’s weird what’s happening. It’s far from everything The sharks are circling. Now everyone wants to invest in the PGA Tour.
It has been reported that as many as 10 different investors have emerged as potential options for the Tour – although one company, Endeavor, has reportedly said it has already been rejected – either to dilute the PIF’s stake, which could make the deal more palatable to the U.S. Department of Justice and in the court of public opinion, or possibly as an alternative to Saudi money. Love said it will also take time to weigh those options.
“We don’t need money, that’s the beautiful thing,” he said. “A very smart businessman said, ‘You may think you’re in trouble, but I buy companies that are in trouble and try to turn them around to make money.’ Your business is not in trouble, you are making a lot of money. It’s perfectly fine that way. All you’re trying to do is make it better. You are in a great position.
Love went on to point out that it’s not just the Saudi fund he wants to partner with, but rather extends to all investment funds looking to pump money into the Tour.
“If it was Warren Buffett instead of PIF, do we really want Warren Buffett controlling the PGA Tour just because he gave us a lot of money? Shouldn’t players control the PGA Tour and the personnel approved by the board? he thought.
Love is excited that Tiger Woods has joined the Tour board to add another voice and said the first issue should be strengthening Tour governance and starting to rebuild trust with key stakeholders.
“How do we restructure the board – we need a new independent director – that has to happen first,” Love said. “Then we can decide if there is a deal somewhere.”
When asked why he thought Woods wanted to get involved in Tour matters at this critical time, Love replied: “One is his injury and the fact that he’s not playing right now, but he also helps a group of players to get more involved, he loves it… Maybe he sees it as a responsibility and maybe as an opportunity, I don’t know. I’m just glad he’s doing it.
Even though time is running out to make a deal with PIF, Love is looking at the bigger picture and thinking long term.
“I think it’s going to be amazing for our business,” he said. “The only thing I know is that nothing will happen very quickly.”
