PGA Tour and LIV Golf 'broker game-changing £1bn deal' thanks to help of Rory McIlroy

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The end of golf's civil war is finally in sight, with a peace deal worth an eye-watering £1billion reportedly on the table.

Since the launch of LIV Golf in 2022, the PGA Tour has been embroiled in a bitter conflict with the Saudi-backed series, imposing bans on any player who participated in a LIV event. In the middle of last year, it seemed that a truce was imminent when the PGA Tour announced a surprise 'framework agreement' with Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

In the following 17 months, the two sides have been engaged in intense negotiations, which at last appeared to have made a major breakthrough. According to The Sun, the PIF will inject £1billion into the PGA Tour, which in turn will grant the PIF an 11 per cent stake in the US-based circuit.

The report also suggests they will secure two positions on the PGA Tour board, including the chairmanship. There are also perks for PGA Tour players who initially rebuffed a move to LIV, with PIF investing in a fund established to reward those who remained loyal to the Tour.

One such player was Rory McIlroy, who was once a staunch critic of LIV. The Northern Irishman is said to have played a pivotal role in peace talks, alongside Tiger Woods. McIlroy spoke about the deal finally coming to fruition at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last month, where PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan partnered with LIV chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan in the Pro-Am event.

"Maybe it's going too slow for the people that follow golf," said McIlroy. "In the business world, deals of this size take time.

"You are talking about billions of dollars changing hands, different jurisdictions. I think we'll know a lot more by year's end. We're in October so hopefully three months to get something done.

"I think it's a great thing and good sign that Jay and Yasir are going to play together. And obviously you've got quite a big contingent over from LIV that are playing in this event. I think what Johann Rupert [who owns Dunhill], the man who runs this event, is trying to do is just bring the golf world back together a little bit.

"If we need to be forced together in some way, he's trying to do that. I think it will be good. It's certainly a step in the right direction."

Although PGA Tour players have yet to officially approve the agreement, there's an expectation that they will approve the deal as well.

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