PGA Tour and the PIF likely to unveil a ‘revised’ framework agreement soon: Report

The PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia had earlier extended the deadline to reach a ‘conclusive agreement’ on the proposed deal. The two sides reportedly pushed the date to close the framework agreement, after not meeting in person since the agreement was announced on June 6. Current reports claim that the parties are likely to reveal a new ‘revised’ framework agreement.

According to Sports Illustrated, the end of the much-anticipated deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF is near. As per the publisher’s claims, the sides have made significant progress recently. The report claims that the new version of the ‘framework agreement’ is set to be unveiled soon, barring the usual approvals from the parties involved.

Last week, reports claimed that the PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was set to meet with the PIF officials to discuss the deal. However, no official update was made on the matter.

Sports Illustrated reports that several plane-tracking services had the Aramco jet arriving in New York. It claimed that the plane carrying PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan was in NY at the same time the PGA Tour plane, which doesn’t fly without Monahan, landed there.

It’s noteworthy that no official comment has been made on the same. However, reports believe that the PGA-PIF deal could be finalised soon.

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Fenway Sports’ SSG to start $3 bn investment in PGA Tour soon

According to reports, the Strategic Sports Group is set to begin its $3 billion investment in the PGA Tour as soon as this week. The group, run by Fenway Sports and other high-profile sports owners, has been in talks with the American circuit for months. Last week, a Sportico report claimed that the circuit could start receiving the investment, which covers the tour's domestic rights, soon.

SSG was named the third entrant in the framework agreement deal signed by the PGA Tour and the PIF. The official notification carrying the deadline extension for the framework agreement also announced that the circuit officials were in negotiations with SSG.

However, the role of the outside group was not clear. It remains unclear if the SSG deal will be announced before the update on the framework agreement.

For the unversed, the Strategic Sports Group consortium includes several investors including Cohen Private Ventures, Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, Celtics major shareholder Wyc Grousbeck and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. Despite being a stacked list, the roles and power-share of the investors in the Tour’s deal are yet to be disclosed.