Monahan says the Saudi deal was gone after his White House meeting

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan says he probably knew there would be no deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund once he left the White House in February 2025. Golf Channel posted the exchange on Friday, Oct. 30, as a preview of "Eamon Lynch Has Questions," the new interview show that debuts with Monahan on Thursday, Nov. 5.

What he says in the clip

Lynch asks Monahan at what point he realized there wasn't going to be a deal with the Saudis. "Probably when we left the White House last year," Monahan answers. Lynch fills in the date, February 20, and points out that Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the fund's governor, and President Donald Trump were both in the room. Monahan confirms each detail. The posted clip stops as Lynch asks what happened in that meeting, so the answer is saved for the full show.

The meeting he means

The AP reported that day that Monahan, Tiger Woods and player director Adam Scott met with Trump at the White House on Feb. 20, 2025, and that Al-Rumayyan, whose fund bankrolls LIV Golf, took part. It was the second White House meeting on the talks, and at the time it looked like a step toward a deal. Two weeks later, Monahan told reporters that no next meeting with the fund was scheduled, though he still called the session constructive.

No agreement ever followed. LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 in New Jersey on Sept. 8, 2026, and the Public Investment Fund agreed to provide $49.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing, subject to court approval.

Why this interview carries weight

Lynch has been one of Monahan's harshest critics since the 2023 framework agreement with the fund. In a March 2025 Golfweek Q&A he asked Monahan why he still had a job. Sports Business Journal reported that Monahan's decade as commissioner ends at the close of this year, so the Nov. 5 hour comes weeks before he leaves the post.

For golf fans, the clip is the first time Monahan has put a date on when he stopped expecting a deal. The full episode airs Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, after World Wide Technology Championship coverage. Watch for his account of what Al-Rumayyan and Trump said in the room, and whether he explains why the tour kept talking publicly about a deal for months afterward.