Saudi Arabia’s PIF actually pitched Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods captaining LIV Golf teams in new partnership
A pair of PGA Tour executives testified in front of a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday about the proposed deal with LIV Golf
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy each owning and playing for a LIV Golf team sounds like a wild, far-fetched idea.
That, however, is apparently the pitch brought to the PGA Tour board members amid negotiations for the attempted partnership between LIV Golf, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
According to Golf.com, PCP Capital Partners — a private equity firm that is involved in deals with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — sent PGA Tour board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy a presentation titled “The Best of Both Worlds.” That presentation had several proposals and ideas of what a long-term partnership between the leagues could look like. The idea was revealed on Tuesday, when a pair of PGA Tour executives testified about the controversial proposed partnership in front of a U.S. Senate committee.
One of those proposals included McIlroy and Woods actually owning LIV Golf teams and playing in 10 LIV Golf events each year.
It’s unclear if Woods or McIlroy knew of this proposal, or how they feel about it specifically. The proposals, a source told Golf.com, didn’t make it very far.
“It’s important to understand that documents released as part of the senate hearing included proposals that PIF/LIV or their representatives made to the PGA Tour, which were quickly rejected and never put into the Framework Agreement,” the source told Golf.com.
LIV Golf’s future is still unclear, especially since this proposed agreement between the three leagues is far from finalized. The PGA Tour is set to head the new venture, and the new company’s board will determine the future of LIV Golf. The PIF is reportedly set to invest billions into the venture.
Would Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy ever actually own a LIV Golf team?
No.
Well, probably not.
Both McIlroy and Woods were perhaps the strongest opponents to LIV Golf since even before it was launched. Woods reportedly turned down a deal that was close to $1 billion to join LIV Golf. McIlroy was constantly pushing back against the Saudi Arabian-backed venture, and he sounded livid once the partnership was announced last month. He didn’t get much of a warning at all, and said that he felt like a “sacrificial lamb.”
“I still hate LIV. I hate them,” McIlroy said last month after the deal was revealed. “I hope it goes away.”
It’s hard to imagine McIlroy wanting to participate in a LIV Golf event, let alone lead a team, after comments like that.
