On June 6, the PGA Tour shocked the sports world by announcing a deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to help LIV Golf.
This story has gone through more turns and twists since then than a soap show.
Another part of the story was added on Friday. ESPN says that the PGA Tour is almost done making a deal with American team owners who want to spend.
Strategic Sports Group, which is made up of wealthy team owners like Tom Werner and John Henry (Boston Red Sox), Wyc Grousbeck (Boston Celtics), and Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), wants to put $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, a new business that will make money.
It’s interesting that both Blank and the Red Sox owners have already put money into golf. They each said they owned teams in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL virtual golf league.
The talks between the PGA Tour and the PIF have been pushed back to next week because a couple of meetings that were supposed to happen this week had to be canceled.
The week before Christmas, Commissioner Jay Monahan and Gov. Yasir Al-Rummayan of the Saudi PIF are set to meet. In the first plan, there was a self-imposed limit of December 31st for reaching a deal. But if there is any progress at the meeting next week, the deadline will likely be pushed back to 2024.
It was said that the Tour would still be “in control” of the new company even if they made a deal with either investment group.
Just before this news came out, there was another big change in golf. Jon Rahm, who is currently the Masters winner, quit the Tour to play for LIV Golf for a fee of around $500 million.
A lot of people think that LIV signing was a response to the PGA Tour talking to other possible sponsors, like Endeavor and Fenway Sports Group.
That’s what’s so interesting about this new development with Strategic Sports Group.
Since the outline deal was made public, there has been a lot of backlash. A lot of people are disgusted, angry, and let down by the PGA Tour’s choice to work with the PIF.
It was recently reported that Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, said on FOX News that he plans to keep “sportswashing” if it helps his country’s bottom line.
The PIF will have a say in the future of men’s professional golf, even if they don’t make a deal with the PGA Tour. They have what seems like an endless supply of money.
