PGA Tour agrees to advance negotiations with Saudi's PIF and Strategic Sports Group

Modified Dec 11, 2023 12:17 GMT

PGA Tour is in advanced talk with Strategic Sports Group and Public Investment Fund (PIF)

The PGA Tour has advanced talks with Strategic Sports Groups to become a co-investor and also decided to continue negotiations with the Public Investment Fund. The announcement was made by the Tour on Sunday, November 10, several days after Jon Rahm's departure to LIV Golf.

The Strategic Sports Group is a consortium of US-based investors led by Fenway. It also comprises Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, Cohen Private Ventures, Celtics major shareholder Wyc Grousbeck and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.

On Sunday evening, the PGA Tour policy board released a memo announcing the new developments regarding outside investment:

"We also anticipate advancing our negotiations with PIF in the weeks to come. Further, the DP World Tour will continue to be an important part of the process as we build toward PGA TOUR Enterprises."

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On Thursday, December 7, Rahm, one of the most popular players, agreed to move to the Saudi-backed circuit after signing a reported deal of over $550 million.

Following his move, it has been speculated that other players might follow suit as well. Tyrrell Hatton and Tony Finau are the frontrunners in the speculation.

Rahm's move has increased speculation over the future of the LIV-PIF deal, but the PGA Tour Policy Board's announcement has given it a lifeline. When both parties agreed to form a common entity in June of this year, they had a non-poaching clause. However, they had to drop the clause after the US Department of Justice reviewed the agreement in July.

Besides Rahm's departure, the PGA Tour also lost its longtime sponsor, Wells Fargo, which has been hosting the Quail Hollow Club event since 2011 but has decided to part ways after 2024.

Uninitiated, the Tour had asked its sponsors to bear some of the costs of the increased purse size of the Signature events.

When will the PGA Tour 2024 season start?

The PGA Tour 2024 season will begin with the Sentry, the first signature event of the season with a purse size of $20 million. The event will take place from January 4 to 7 at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.

Here's a look at the complete schedule of the PGA Tour 2024 season:

January 4–7: The Sentry
January 11–14: Sony Open in Hawaii
January 18–21: The American Express
January 24-27: Farmers Insurance Open
February 1–4: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
February 8–11: WM Phoenix Open
February 15–18: The Genesis Invitational
February 22–25: Mexico Open at Vidanta
February 29–March 3: The Classic in The Palm Beaches
March 7-10: Puerto Rico Open
March 7-10: Arnold Palmer Invitational
March 14-17: The Players Championship
March 21–24: Valspar Championship
March 28-31: Texas Children’s Houston Open
April 4–7: Valero Texas Open
April 11–14: Masters Tournament
April 18–21: Corales Puntacana Championship
April 18-21: RBC Heritage
April 25-28: Zurich Classic of New Orleans
May 2–5: The CJ Cup Byron Nelson
May 9–12: Myrtle Beach Classic
May 9–12: Wells Fargo Championship
May 16-19: PGA Championship
May 23-26: Charles Schwab Challenge
May 30–June 2: RBC Canadian Open
June 6–9: Memorial Tournament
June 13-16: U.S. Open
June 20-23: Travelers Championship
June 27-30: Rocket Mortgage Classic
July 4–7: John Deere Classic
July 11–14: Genesis Scottish Open
July 18–21: Barracuda Championship
July 18–21: The Open Championship
July 25-28: 3M Open
August 1–4: Olympics
August 8–11: Wyndham Championship
August 15-18: FedEx St. Jude Championship
August 22–25: BMW Championship
August 29 - September 1: Tour Championship

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