The PGA Tour is trying to level the playing field with its biggest competitor, and the golf league will do so with the financial backing of some of the sports world’s most powerful entities.
The Tour announced the formation of PGA Tour Enterprises, a partnership with Strategic Sports Group, in a release Wednesday. Strategic Sports Group (SSG) is a consortium of professional sports owners led by John Henry and Fenway Sports Group. Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck is also part of SSG. The deal includes up to $3 billion in backing from SSG.
According to the Tour, players “would collectively access over $1.5 billion in equity in PGA Tour Enterprises. These grants — which vest over time — will be based on career accomplishments, recent achievements, future participation and services and PGA Tour membership status, and grants are only available to qualified PGA Tour players.”
The hope there is obvious: The Tour wants to put more money in its best players’ pockets in an attempt to stop those elite players from jumping ship to LIV Golf. The Tour has lost dozens of players to the Saudi Arabia-backed league, an entity that has seemingly no monetary restrictions as it operates with the financial backing of Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
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This deal with SGS does not include LIV or the PIF, but negotiations will continue, according to a report from the Financial Times. The Tour memo also mentions a future opportunity for co-investment from the PIF. The Tour and PIF agreed to a framework agreement for a potential merger on June 6, 2023, and the two sides are reportedly negotiating some sort of agreement that could bridge the gap between the two and bring the golf world back together in some fashion.
Featured image via Adam Hagy/USA TODAY Sports Images
