Jordan Spieth said Wednesday he thinks the PGA Tour now may not need to strike a deal with the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) now that the Tour has a new partnership with Strategic Sports Group (SSG).
The deal with SSG could infuse $3 billion into the newly formed PGA Tour Enterprises.
The 30-year-old Spieth, who joined the PGA Tour’s policy board following Rory McIlroy’s resignation, said if a deal with PIF is reached that benefits all parties he would be OK with it, but doesn’t think it’s a must now that this new deal has been struck.
“I don’t think it’s needed,” Spieth said before the start of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am which begins on Thursday. “The idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it’s operating right now without anything else, with the option of other investors.”
The PGA Tour said in a news release the deal doesn’t preclude a future partnership with PIF because SSG allows for a co-investment with the fund, which still would be subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.
Spieth also said the deal could lead to a future partnership with the PIF and LIV Golf, but is “not sure if or how or when it would get done.”
The biggest part of the agreement is the fact that SSG involvement allows players to be equity partners in the PGA Tour.
According to a release, with SSG’s funding, 200 PGA Tour members would have access to a “first-of-its-kind” program that would allow them to become equity holders in PGA Tour Enterprises, which is a for-profit entity.
The members would collectively have access to more than $1.5 billion in equity grants, which will vest over time.
The size of the grants will be determined by a tiered system based on “career accomplishments, recent achievements, future participation and services and PGA Tour membership status.”
“As part of this new partnership, we are launching a player equity program with current and future players, who will have access to over a billion and a half in interest,’’ PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said on a “listen only” conference call.
“Members of the PGA Tour will become equity members of PGA Tour Enterprises. This strengthens our players’ connection to the PGA Tour, and also creates a shared vision for organizational unity.”
The player equity aspect has made the deal appealing to Spieth.
“The players are now owners,” Spieth said. “So not only do they benefit with the tour, they now are equity owners, so they want to push it themselves. They want to make the product better themselves. Not that they didn’t before, but you directly benefit from owning a piece.”
McIlroy said Tuesday he believes LIV players should be allowed to return to play on the new-look PGA Tour without punishment if they still have eligibility.
But Spieth said that view is not a universal consensus among the players, who still have reservations about having any kind of partnership with PIF.
“I’ve asked a lot of players, I’ve done a lot of talking with a lot of players in the last couple months,” Spieth said. “That’s Rory’s viewpoint. I could name some guys with the same viewpoint, I could name some guys with a totally opposite viewpoint. So it’s certainly mixed on how players feel about that.”
SSG is made up of a group that includes owners like Steve Cohen (Mets), Tom Werner and John Henry (Red Sox), Mark Attanasio (Brewers), Arthur Blank (Falcons), Wyc Grousbeck (Celtics), Tom Ricketts (Cubs) and others.
The group will be a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises, and the PGA Tour will remain the majority shareholder.
Monahan also did not address any more about where things stand with PIF.
The PGA Tour and PIF signed on “framework agreement” on June 6 to combine their commercial assets, including LIV Golf.
The agreement initially had a Dec. 31 deadline, but it was extended as both sides continued to sort out the final details.
It is unclear if, or how, the PGA Tour’s deal with SSG will impact the negotiations.
“This deal with SSG has no impact on our ongoing negotiations with PIF,’’ Monahan said. “SSG is aware of our ongoing dialogue with PIF and is in support of it. We will continue to advance that dialogue as long as it works to favor our future and our policy board.’’
The deal still leaves golf fans without the possibility of seeing the top players in the world compete against each other, aside from the majors.
Will that change? Stay tuned.
