Pelley expects to complete LIV merger before exiting

Keith Pelley, the outgoing DP World Tour chief executive, has given the clearest indication yet that a deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund could be reached soon by disclosing he asked to stay on for an extra three months to help get the negotiations over the line.

Telegraph Sport reported last month that the European circuit, alongside the PGA Tour, had agreed to extend the merger talks until April, and Pelley’s positivity explains why this date might prove important.

“I’m here for the next three months and, by then, we hope to come to a conclusion, and I’ve told the PGA Tour and representatives from PIF that is my primary focus,” said Pelley, who announced on Thursday that he was moving back to his hometown of Toronto to take control of four of the city’s sports franchises. “I truly believe it [that a deal can be reached]. I’ve believed it for a long time and that is the reason that we entered into the framework agreement [last June] – and we need to move forward.”

Pelley has remained upbeat even when the chances of a deal seemed unlikely. “I said things would heat up after the Ryder Cup, and they have,” Pelley said. “So, yes, I’m optimistic over the next couple of months. And that’s the primary reason I’m not leaving straight away.

“I think unifying the game is something we all want.”

Pelley’s confidence will change the narrative of the saga. Just six weeks ago, LIV Golf – the breakaway league bankrolled by PIF – gave a timely and emphatic reminder of the kingdom’s financial might by signing world No 3 Jon Rahm to a contract believed to be approximately £450 million.

This was widely seen as a shot across the PGA Tour’s bows. Having previously agreed not to poach more big names, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor and chairman of LIV, became frustrated with the deal’s progress and by the fact the PGA Tour was talking to private equity investors in the United States.

The Rahm acquisition forced Jay Monahan, the beleaguered PGA Tour commissioner, to act quickly and he named Fenway Sports, the owner of Liverpool FC, as the US investor it wished to negotiate with, notable considering that conglomerate’s links with the Saudis.

Monahan was then due to meet Al-Rumayyan – also the Newcastle United chairman – before Christmas but Telegraph Sport understands that while this was not possible, the pair did talk on the phone. That chat has apparently pushed on the negotiations substantially, hence Pelley’s desire to hang around before he departs for what he calls “my dream job”.

The feeling here in the locker room at the Dubai Invitational is that Rory McIlroy’s proposal of a global tour, along Formula One lines, taking in the national Opens in Asia, Australasia, Europe, Africa and, of course North America, could be on the mark.

Confident: Keith Pelley asked to stay on until April to drive through the deal with the Saudi PIF