The PGA is closing in on a $3 billion investment that may not include rival LIV Golf.
Strategic Sports Group — led by Fenway Sports Group and including Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Cohen Private Ventures, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry — is set to make the historic investment, according to Bloomberg, with additional money from the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
It could set the valuation of the newly created for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises at around $12 billion.
Saudi-backed LIV Golf may not be initially included in the deal, with talks continuing, per Bloomberg.
The deal comes after the PGA and PIF, which funds LIV, had agreed to the framework of a landmark merger between the two tours and extended their negotiation window past the planned New Year’s Eve deadline.
LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was reportedly unhappy with the involvement of private equity money since it felt like LIV Golf was no longer at the center of the talks, according to CBS Sports.
The agreement has faced criticism from regulators and lawmakers, in part due to the PIF involvement.
There is hope that the inclusion of the US-based SSG could help allay those issues, plus those between PGA and LIV players, in order to complete the deal before the Masters in April.
Players have been at odds since LIV’s inception in 2022, when it paid high-profile players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson eight- and nine-figure deals to jump tours.
In early December, LIV enticed star Jon Rahm with a $300 million contract as it continues to recruit players despite the ongoing talks.
