Lengthy phone call between Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan made “substantial” progress - Reports

Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan are the most visible heads of the so-called "framework agreement" between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. Negotiations did not conclude on schedule, but new reports suggest that the end may be near.

British media, The Telegraph, reported on Friday, January 12, that Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan held a lengthy phone call around Christmas Day. According to The Telegraph, this call would have meant a "substantial" boost to negotiations.

The media reported that Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan intended to have a face-to-face meeting. When that couldn't happen, they opted for telephonic communication. It was the first contact between the two since the announcement of the framework agreement on June 6, The Telegraph said.

The media also reflected that the current CEO of the DP World Tour, Keith Pelley, decided to remain in his position until April as he believes a definitive agreement between Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan could be finalized. On Thursday, Pelley announced his resignation from his post to take another job in his native Canada.

Explaining the same, Pelley was quoted as saying by The Telegraph:

"I’m here for the next three months and by then we hope to come to a conclusion and I’ve told the PGA Tour and representatives from PIF that is my primary focus. I truly believe it [that a deal can be reached]. I’ve believed it for a long time and that is the reason that we entered into the framework agreement [last June] – and we need to move forward."

"I said things would heat up after the Ryder Cup, and they have. So yeah, I’m optimistic over the next couple of months. And that’s the primary reason I’m not leaving straight away... To see a conclusion reached before I leave would be something that would be very gratifying."

Timeline of the negotiations between Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

The dispute between the PIF and the PGA Tour goes back at least as far as 2020. However, it was not until 2022 that ways were sought to create a path to negotiations involving Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

According to Golfweek, British businessman Roger Devlin was charged with taking the first step on behalf of PIF and its breakaway league, LIV Golf.

Upon Yasir Al-Rumayyan's request, Devlin wrote an email to PGA Tour Board member Jimmy Dunne in December 2022, seeking an approach that would allow some form of negotiation to begin.

Almost at the same time (December 2022), Rory McIlroy met with Al-Rumayyan in Dubai. The Northern Irishman, speaking to the "Stick to Football" podcast, explained that upon his return to the United States, he recommended that someone from the PGA Tour board have a meeting with the PIF Governor.

Devlin went on to attempt a meeting with Dunne, explaining via email various details of the PIF's interests. According to Golfweek, he went so far as to tell Dunne (early in 2023) that, if the PGA Tour did not negotiate, PIF had more than enough resources to outlast it.

It is unclear whether Devlin and Dunne ever met in person, but it is clear that the latter attempted a WhatsApp contact with Al-Rumayyan in late April 2023.

After this point, negotiations began that led to Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan signing the framework agreement on May 30, 2023. The document was released six days later.