PGA Tour unable to finalise deal with PIF ahead of Dec. 31 deadline
Sports
The PGA Tour has made "meaningful progress" in negotiations with Strategic Sports Group (SSG)
Washington (Reuters) - The PGA Tour was unable to finalise a definitive partnership agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline but wants to extend negotiations into 2024 given "active and productive conversations", according to a memo seen by Reuters.
The PGA Tour has made "meaningful progress" in negotiations with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), the consortium of U.S.-based professional sports team investors that have entered the fray, according to a memo sent on Sunday to players by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
"These partnerships will allow us to unify, innovate and invest in the game for the benefit of players, fans and sponsors," Monahan wrote in the memo.
According to Monahan, the PGA Tour's goal for 2024 is to reach agreements with SSG, PIF and the Europe-based DP World Tour, bringing them on board as minority co-investors in PGA Tour Enterprises.
In June, the PGA Tour, PIF and DP World Tour announced a framework agreement to house their commercial operations in a new for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, and set Dec. 31 as a deadline to reach a definitive agreement.
As talks with the PIF, the main financial backer of LIV Golf, dragged on, outside investor interest in the PGA Tour has since heated up by way of SSG, an investment group headlined by Fenway Sports Group.
The framework agreement with the PIF, which came after the PGA Tour lost a handful of high-profile names to LIV Golf, divided the golfing world and irked some U.S. lawmakers.
PGA and DP World Tour did not immediately reply to requests for comment outside normal business hours and Reuters was not immediately able to reach PIF.
U.S. senators blasted the deal as "sportswashing," where the kingdom uses sports to improve its reputation as it faces criticism of its human rights record.
The expiration of the deadline comes after reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm, who had long been a consistent voice against LIV Golf, agreed on Dec. 7 to join the rival league for a deal that was reportedly in the range of $500 million.
For now, the tours will run independently, with LIV Golf holding the majority of its 14-event 2024 season outside the United States and the PGA Tour returning to a calendar-year schedule for the first time since 2012.
The PGA Tour will also unveil a radical new approach during its 2024 season as five of its eight limited-field signature events will have no cuts, a move made partly as a reaction to LIV Golf's structure.
