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When the PGA Tour and the upstart LIV Golf League, which is financed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, announced their unprecedented deal in June to unify the men’s golf circuit, they left most details unanswered and the decision. The deadline for taking action was set for December 31st. them out.
Now, it is clear that both sides will need more time.
Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said in a memo to players Sunday evening that the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, were working to “expand” negotiations into the new year.
The sides were discussing signing a formal one-month extension, which could be extended further, said three people familiar with the talks, who were not authorized to discuss them. But although both sides are focused on concluding an agreement, they have not yet set any new formal deadline.
Those talks continue as the PGA Tour moves forward on simultaneous talks to raise additional funding from Strategic Sports Group, an investment group led by Fenway Sports Group – which owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins and English soccer club Liverpool. Is the parent company of.
Mr Monahan said on Sunday that the Tour and Strategic Sports Group had “made meaningful progress” in their talks and that the Tour had “provided SSG with the due diligence information they requested.” The parties are focusing on finalizing the terms and documents of the deal, he said.
The PGA Tour, Saudi Wealth Fund and Strategic Sports Group are entering 2024 with significant uncertainty about the deal. Since the June announcement, the questions that initially accompanied the frenetic implementation of the agreement have been compounded: How will potential U.S. investments sit alongside Saudi money? How will the golf circuits work together while the Saudis are still actively trying to lure PGA Tour players to their side?
The planned partnership was announced on June 6 with little outline of the actual agreement. The PGA Tour and the Saudi Wealth Fund had planned to work out details, including governance, property valuation and how the money will be put to work, by the end of 2023.
About two weeks after the temporary partnership was announced, Tour and the Saudi wealth fund, which had been in a bitter feud for months, agreed to drop their bitter litigation against each other. LIV had accused the tour of violating antitrust laws, and the tour accused LIV of improperly interfering with existing player contracts.
In the months that followed, the initial agreement faced opposition from players, who said they were unaware of the deal, and US lawmakers, with some calling for further investigation into the tour’s ties to Saudi money and influence. of.
Dissatisfaction among players, including the powerful PGA Tour policy board, has been widespread. And LIV Golf recently signed Jon Rahm, the No. 3 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, knocking him off the PGA Tour and showing the Saudis’ desire to spend money on the sport and make LIV competitive for the Tour. Was exposed.
LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman said of the move, “Having John on board was extremely important to our future and what we want to do.” “This will create a domino effect – more apples will fall from the tree – there is no question about that, as LIV continues to grow.”
