PGA Tour provides update on Public Investment Fund talks
A memo was sent to the PGA Tour membership on Sunday, posting a crucial update regarding talks with the Public Investment Fund…
The PGA Tour Policy Board sent an intriguing memo to the membership on Sunday.
The Board revealed they’ve advanced talks with Strategic Sports Group (SSG) – a consortium of US-based professional sports team investors.
The memo also informed the players that talks continue to progress with the Public Investment Fund as the December 31 deadline edges nearer.
“We also anticipate advancing our negotiations with PIF in the weeks to come,” the memo read.
“Further, the DP World Tour will continue to be an important part of the process as we build toward PGA Tour Enterprises.”
The memo stated the Policy Board, which includes Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth, is “very confident in an eventual, positive outcome for all players and the PGA Tour as a whole.”
This email was just sent on the behalf of the Policy Board
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) December 10, 2023
The update included continued negotiations with PIF and also Fenway Sports Group. pic.twitter.com/lc5KBn7KIk
Ed Herhily and Jimmy Dunne are also part of the PGA Tour Policy Board and have been involved with the PIF negotiations since the framework agreement was announced on June 6, and the weeks leading up to that.
Woods, who joined them on the board in August, said at the Hero World Challenge he was frustrated with the “slowness and the governance change that we want to have happen.”
SSG now appears to be one of the multiple options Woods referred to when discussing the tour’s progress with private equity candidates, but he also made clear the tour’s desire to meet this month’s deadline with the PIF.
“December 31 is coming up very quickly, so there’s the timetable there that we would like to implement some of these changes that have not taken place,” Woods said in the Bahamas.
“The guys, all the player directors have spent so many hours and worked tireless hours to make sure that we have the best deal for all the players that are involved, the entire PGA Tour.
“We have multiple options, but still, we would like to have a deal done by December 31. That’s what the agreement said in the summer and all parties understand that.”
Arguably the most fascinating development in the PGA Tour and the PIF’s relationship since the summer was Jon Rahm’s shock move to LIV Golf.
The announcement on December 7 was all the more surprising given the PGA Tour’s newfound alliance with the PIF, the entity that bankrolls the rebel league Rahm now belongs to.
NOW READ: Has Jon Rahm just opened the LIV Golf floodgates?
NOW READ: Which players passed LIV Golf’s Q-school?
Follow NCG on Twitter/X!
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
