PGA Tour side investor talks progress despite LIV Jon Rahm poaching

Jay Monahan updated the players on the deal with the Saudi PIF and other potential investors as they head into 2024.

2024 is upon us and the division in professional golf remains at an all-time high. Hours prior to the New Year being rung in, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to the players, updating them on talks with potential investors.

That of course includes LIV and its beneficiary, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). But he also reiterated plans to go forward with SSG as another investor in the PGA Tour.

“As you know, the [PGA Tour policy board] unanimously directed management to pursue exclusive negotiations with SSG [Strategic Sports Group],” Monahan wrote in the memo.

“I am pleased to report that we have made meaningful progress and have provided SSG with the due diligence information they requested. As we move forward in our discussions, we are focused on the finalization of terms and drafts of necessary documents.”

SSG is a group of billionaire team owners, including Tom Werner and John Henry, who own the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck.

It is widely believed that the Tour’s insistence to seek out separate investors beyond the PIF led to the Jon Rahm poaching. Rahm leaving is the latest and biggest development in the growing rivalry between tours.

But that discord has not squashed any potential deal with the Saudis. The self-imposed deadline of Dec. 31st may have come and passed, but negotiations continue.

“Our goal for 2024 is to reach agreements with SSG, PIF and the DP World Tour, bringing them on board as minority co-investors in PGA Tour Enterprises,” Monahan wrote. “These partnerships will allow us to unify, innovate and invest in the game for the benefit of players, fans and sponsors.”

ESPN reports suggested that this deal with SSG would bring more than $3 billion into the new for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises.

The emergence of LIV in 2022 forced the PGA Tour to find ways to make players happier. They increased tournament purses and created the PIP (Player Impact Program) in hopes of not losing any more stars to the rival circuit.

However, it appears as though the Tour was stretched too thin financially, which left them in a place to strike the shocking deal with the PIF in June of 2023.

There is no official deadline or timetable on a deal. But all signs point to LIV Golf existing not only throughout 2024, but into the future. Whether a deal is struck with either the PIF or the SSG, the division in golf is likely to remain.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.