Both Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy confirmed an earlier Golfweek report that a group of PGA Tour players were planning to meet with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, on Monday in an effort to continue towards a deal that would seemingly reunite men’s professional golf.
The original report stated the meeting was tentatively scheduled at a private residence in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, following the conclusion of the Players Championship at nearby TPC Sawgrass. Flight tracking data shows the meeting may actually be happening in the Bahamas.
A jet registered to Saudi Aramco, the state-owned petroleum and natural gas company chaired by Al-Rumayyan, that flew to New York City the day of the June 6 framework agreement announcement landed in Houston on Sunday. Another jet registered to Aramco flew to the Bahamas on Sunday, where Tiger Woods’ jet and yachts are both reportedly parked. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s jet (registered to Tour Air Inc.) was bound for the Bahamas on Monday morning, as was the jet tied to SSG consortium member and Fenway Sports Group co-founder John Henry (registered to Algonquin Aviation LLC). Henry’s plane landed in the Bahamas but has since taken off again.
John Henry's plane #N627JW did land in Nassau and has since taken off again – this time headed down to San Juan PR pic.twitter.com/ObhshHEACu
— radaratlas2 (@radaratlas2) March 18, 2024
The social media account, Radar Atlas, regularly tracks flights, and the original account was banned for tracking Elon Musk’s flights. The new account can be found @RadarAtlas2.
Last week during his annual State of the Tour address, Monahan confirmed he met with Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor and LIV Golf chairman, in Saudi Arabia in January and that he was accompanied by representatives of the SSG. In January, SSG invested $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, the vehicle through which the future of the sport will be shaped.
“While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf’s worldwide potential,” Monahan said of the “accelerated” discussions. “It’s going to take time, but I reiterate what I said at the Tour Championship in August. I see a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and the sport as a whole. Most importantly, I see a positive outcome for our great fans.”
Golfweek has reached out to both the Tour and PIF for comment.
