PGA Tour commissioner breaks silence, says talks with LIV's Saudi backers 'accelerating'

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was short on details but overflowing with confidence Tuesday about the future of the PGA Tour, repairing the fractured landscape of golf and his ability to lead the way.

"I am the right person to lead us forward. I know that," Monahan said at The Players Championship. "I believe that in my heart, and I'm determined to do exactly that."

Where it leads remains a mystery. Monahan said at the onset of his news conference — his first in nearly seven months — that while negotiations with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf are "accelerating," they had to remain private.

What he offered was hope for a successful outcome with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which announced an agreement on June 6 to partner with the PGA Tour in a commercial investment venture eventually called PGA Tour Enterprises.

Now the only minority investor is Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S. sports owner that agreed in January to pump up to $3 billion US into golf. The initial investment of $1.5 billion includes a player-equity program to compensate players and give them ownership.

Monahan said SSG joined him on a January trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with with PIF leader Yasir Al-Rumayyan. PIF is funding LIV Golf, which lured away Masters champion Jon Rahm in December to join a roster that includes major champions Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau.

"I do believe that negotiating a deal with PIF is the best outcome," Monahan said. "Obviously it has to be the right deal for both sides, like any situation or negotiation."

Among the sticking points, which Monahan declined to discuss, is how to bring the players back together when so many of them defected from the PGA Tour to