DP World Tour boss Keith Perry insists a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is not imminent as he is not confident an agreement will be reached before his outgoing boss leaves office next month. ..but insists merger remains ‘inevitable’

• Perry believes the two tours will eventually be combined, but not while he is
• He plans to step down in April to take over Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
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As the PGA Tour and LIV Golf work on partnership plans, outgoing DP World Tour chief executive Keith Perry said Sunday it’s only a matter of time before professional golf’s rival tours combine to form a unified entity. That’s what he said.

Perry, who will be succeeded by current European Tour deputy CEO and executive director Guy Kinnings on April 2, has been pushing for an agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV with support from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). .

“I’m confident the game will be unified,” he told the Times.

“Whether it’s six months from now, a year from now, two years from now, 10 years from now, people are starting to realize that a collective product is in the best interests of world golf. I think so,” Perry said.

“That’s the only way to continue the growth and the prize fund at this level. It’s inevitable.”

Although it is highly unlikely that Perry will see this deal before he retires, he is president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), whose brands include the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA team’s Toronto Raptors. to take office.

“Can I stay here and see you through to the end?” Yes. But we cannot control the timing,” he added.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia launched LIV Golf in 2022, dividing the golf world.

Tensions among players began to cool last June when the PGA Tour, PIF and Europe-based DP World Tour announced a framework agreement that would house commercial operations in a for-profit entity called PGA Tour Enterprises.

Regarding the outgoing tour, Perry mentioned the controversy surrounding the DP World Tour’s 10 best players receiving PGA Tour status as part of an alliance between the two golf leagues.

“Our job is to provide income potential to our members, and these 10 players will each earn a minimum of $500,000,” Perry said. He added that the hope of keeping these players in Europe was “not real”. The players want to go to America. We’re not he’s the 1970s or he’s the 1980s. ”