Professional golf has been through the proverbial ringer the last calendar year. From players leaving the PGA Tour to go to LIV Golf for huge pay outs to the PGA looking for investors to potentially help keep the PGA Tour both afloat and competitive with other leagues in the sports world.

While there are more than one investment firms interested in investing in the PGA, the fact the PGA is even negotiating with the PIF, the Saudi group in charge of luring golfers away from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, was a stunner of all stunners in 2023. There was a deadline set for the two parties to reach an agreement, an agreement which could see some of those LIV golfers returning to more regular PGA Tour events.

The two parties had put a deadline of 12/31/2023 to reach a deal, so you can imagine how the golf world was waiting to see if a deal would be made, or not. When New Year’s Eve approached, it was announced on the 28th of December the two parties extended their deadline to reach a definitive agreement. They’d love to get a deal done before the Players Championship, but before the Masters in April seems to be the final deadline.

🚨JUST IN: The PGA TOUR & PIF are extending their timeline to reach a definitive agreement. The two sides have set a goal of reaching a deal by The Masters, according to new reporting from @TelegraphSport. pic.twitter.com/jFmB4zROae

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) December 28, 2023

“While we had initially set a deadline of December 31, 2023, to reach an agreement, we are working to extend our negotiations into next year based on the progress we have made to date,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan wrote in a letter to PGA Tour membership late Sunday evening. “Our goal for 2024 is to reach agreements with SSG, PIF and the DP World Tour, bringing them on board as minority co-investors.”

What does all this mean? As Golf.com writes, it could equate in more funding for the PGA Tour, as well as new opportunities from these minority partners.

“Negotiations between the Tour and PIF have centered around the shape of a new, for-profit entity named PGA Tour Enterprises. It is expected that the Tour will pool its moneymaking ventures within the new entity, allowing investors (and some players) to take equity in pro golf’s high-ticket businesses in exchange for significant cash investments. That company, an offshoot of the Tour’s existing business model, could allow the Tour to operate similarly to many professional sports “franchises” today, in which owners “buy into” a league in exchange for an annual cut of revenues from TV agreements and sponsorships.”

Will a deal get done? It seems as if the PGA Tour Enterprises will have investors, but will the PIF be one remains the ultimate question. The PGA Tour has an obvious need for more investors, while the PIF and the Saudis have no shortage of money to continue to lure players away from the PGA Tour to their tour. Finding a middle ground to avoid further damage to the PGA Tour remains to be the best course of action, but whether they reach a deal before the aforementioned deadlines continues to be the big question.

As the calendar year flips to 2024, all eyes are on the clock on when these minority owners finally have a stake in the PGA Tour.