PGA Tour-Saudi PIF Merger Deadline Reportedly Gets Extended After Two Sides Trade Shots In December

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Negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to agree on a merger and create a new for-profit entity could drag into the Spring of 2024. Given that both sides have appeared to be working against one another instead of with one another over the last few months, this news comes as no surprise.

The two sides self-appointed a Dec. 31, 2023 deadline to agree on a merger after announcing plans to do so back in June, according to The Telegraph, a new deadline of April 2024 is expected to be announced before the end of the year.

The report suggests that both sides intend to strike a deal before the 2024 Masters, which begins April 11.

As far as discussions or how far off the Tour and PIF may be on an agreement is unclear, but given the two monumental moves both sides made in December it's fair to assume finalizing an agreement may not exactly be in the immediate future.

Earlier in the Fall, the PGA Tour publicly announced that it would be speaking with private equity groups as potential investors. As these discussions were taking place, Saudi-backed LIV Golf was having discussions of its own with world No. 3 Jon Rahm.

On Dec. 7, Rahm officially left the PGA Tour to join LIV. Three days later, the Tour announced plans to further negotiate with Strategic Sports Group, a collection of U.S. sports teams investors while keeping conversations with the PIF alive as well.

READ: YES, JON RAHM JOINING LIV GOLF WAS NOTHING BUT A GIANT ‘FU-K YOU’ FROM THE SAUDIS TO THE PGA TOUR

It doesn't take much to connect the dots that Saudi PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan did not appreciate the Tour bringing other investors into the equation. Al-Rumayyan countered by offering Rahm whatever cash sum he wanted and poached one of the best players walking the planet.

The only ones to blame for these scenarios to come to fruition are the Tour and PIF themselves. Well, themselves and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The original framework agreement announced in June contained an agreement in which LIV Golf would not be allowed to poach any players away from the Tour during negotiations. That clause was later nixed by the DOJ due to antitrust concerns allowing the Saudi-backed circuit and its bottomless pockets to negotiate with and sign Tour players.

Follow Mark Harris on X @itismarkharris and email him at mark.harris@outkick.com

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.