Tag: Yasir al-Rumayyan

Exclusive: PGA Tour players nearing secret meeting with Saudi fund boss

Six sources told Golfweek that player-directors are being strongly encouraged to meet Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A group of PGA Tour players are nearing a meeting with the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as efforts continue to broker a deal between the Tour and the controversial sovereign wealth fund that has been disrupting men’s professional golf.

Six sources told Golfweek that the Tour’s player-directors are being strongly encouraged to meet Yasir Al-Rumayyan and that it could happen within days. Two sources said a meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday at a private residence in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The Players Championship concludes on Sunday at nearby TPC Sawgrass. Details of the meeting are being closely guarded and several insiders caution that it’s still unclear if the powerful Saudi investment chief will commit to attending or cancel at the last minute.

Five of the six player-directors on the Tour’s Policy Board — all of whom now also serve on the board of the new for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises — are in the field at the Players: Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson. Only Tiger Woods is not competing. Joe Ogilvie, a retired veteran who was added to both boards last week as a liaison to player-directors, plans to arrive in Ponte Vedra Beach Sunday in advance of an Enterprises board meeting scheduled for Tuesday at Tour headquarters.

A meeting between Al-Rumayyan and the players would be intended as an informal ice-breaker in a bid to advance negotiations between the Tour and the PIF, talks which have been largely stalled since the June 6 announcement of a Framework Agreement between the parties. A faction of player-directors remains angered about the secretive process leading to that agreement and are known to be skeptical of a deal with the Saudis, who have poured billions of dollars into LIV Golf.

On Tuesday, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed that he met recently with Al-Rumayyan in Saudi Arabia and was accompanied by representatives of Strategic Sports Group. In January, SSG invested $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, the vehicle through which the future of the sport will be shaped. “Our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together,” Monahan said.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, the PIF could also become a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises, but last month one player-director was noticeably lukewarm when asked if a deal with the PIF was necessary after the SSG infusion.

“I just think it’s something that is almost not even worth talking about right this second given how timely everything would be to try to get it figured out,” Spieth said. “But the idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it’s operating right now without anything else with the option of other investors.”

Those comments led to a public response from Rory McIlroy, who Spieth replaced on the Policy Board in December. McIlroy said reaching a deal with the PIF is in the Tour’s best interests and warned that Spieth’s implicit stiff-arming of the Saudis could complicate negotiations. McIlroy has also suggested that LIV golfers be allowed to return to the PGA Tour without sanction as part of a unity agreement. That’s one of the thorniest issues negotiators will face, and several prominent Tour loyalists immediately rejected McIlroy’s view, including Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

When Monahan addressed the media on Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass, he repeatedly declined to offer specifics on the state of negotiations or on any areas of contention, but reiterated his belief that a deal with the PIF is the best outcome for his organization. Asked what the game will look like if a deal with the Saudis is not concluded, Monahan said, “I guess I’ll answer that question if a deal isn’t concluded.”

“However we end up, I think that we’re not going to be able to satisfy everyone, and that goes for both sides,” he added. “But what we’re trying to do is to get to the best possible outcome again for the Tour and for the game, and I do think that that’s achievable.”

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LIV Golf Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan updates players on potential future investment in PGA Tour Enterprises

The letter comes a day after the PGA Tour secured a $3 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was first to the table in June of 2023 to negotiate a framework agreement with the PGA Tour to create a new for-profit entity that would alter professional golf as we know it, and has been locked in discussions in the seven months since.

Just hours after news broke that an outside investment group comprised of a consortium of U.S. sports owners had agreed to invest $3 billion to create PGA Tour Enterprises, Greg Norman responded with a letter to the entire league staff that was obtained by Golfweek. The note didn’t just hype up LIV Golf’s third official season – which begins this week at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Course – but also downplayed any negative impact the Strategic Sports Group’s investment may have on LIV’s future.

A day later, Golfweek has obtained yet another letter, this time sent from LIV Golf Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan to players, that took a more measured approach.

Dear All,

Yesterday’s announcement of the formation of PGA Tour Enterprises is consistent with PIF’s longstanding passion to grow the game. PIF continues to discuss and evaluate the possibility of a future investment that benefits the greater game of golf.

PIF remains committed to investing in and supporting LIV and the team golf format that has brought new energy and so many new fans to the game around the world.

The game of golf is only beginning to fulfill its potential. This is the vision we had when LIV was created, and today that is more alive than ever. LIV has transformed the sport, and we will continue to grow the game globally, expand its fanbase, elevate its platform, and maintain incredible momentum.

LIV has a great season ahead. Good luck at Mayakoba. I will see you all on the range soon.

Yasir

LIV Golf Chairman

[5:27 PM] Woodard, Adam

Words matter, and Al-Rumayyan chose his carefully by hedging any guarantee of an investment. He also amplified the PIF’s investment in LIV and made it clear the league plans to continue to grow whether or not a deal is reached, as seen with new player signings and eight of 14 events outside the United States. In the Tour’s announcement of its partnership with the SSG, the release stated PGA Tour Enterprises allows for a co-investment from the PIF in the future, “subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.”

The U.S. government has kept a keen interest in the proposed PIF investment since the initial framework agreement was announced. An optimist would say the inclusion of the SSG investment may dilute any future Saudi investment just enough to make a deal more palatable for the feds. A pessimist could also argue the Tour is attempting to squeeze the Saudis out.

LIV Golf has ventured on after the Tour and PIF’s previous deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, to come to an agreement was missed. The league has poached great players and characters like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton and will host at least four events in 2024 the same week as PGA Tour signature events, including this week in Mexico. While the possibility of an investment in PGA Tour Enterprises is certainly still on the table, Al-Rumayyan’s letter sure makes it seem like the two sides still aren’t close to coming together.

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LIV Golf fumbled the Jon Rahm signing, stalling its momentum for 2024 season

LIV squandered an opportunity to take a much-needed step forward.

LIV Golf peppered its social media accounts for days throughout December with self-congratulatory posts after it secured the signature of Jon Rahm. And for good reason.

The big man from Spain is the world No. 3, reigning Masters champion, 11-time winner on the PGA Tour and a blossoming international star. At the time, Rahm’s move amid the PGA Tour’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV’s financial backers, was viewed as a momentous occasion for the league. Another jewel had been plucked from the Tour’s crown.

But over the last two months, like the football player who drops the ball in premature celebration before crossing into the endzone for a touchdown, LIV Golf has fumbled the signing of its best player to date and squandered an opportunity to take a much-needed step forward.

Still acting as rivals, LIV could have dominated the headlines in the PGA Tour’s brief offseason. Despite what certain fan accounts may lead you to believe online, LIV is still struggling to build a dedicated following. For the second consecutive year, the league has pushed the release of team rosters to the 11th hour. They could have sold merch and built fan excitement for teams and events. Instead, they dragged out the release of important information – the final two events of the 2024 season are still to be announced – and stalled any momentum it may have picked up from Rahm.

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Imagine not knowing what team LeBron James would play for, or who would play alongside him, a week before the start of the NBA season. Imagine the NFL not announcing the dates for Week 17 games, or where the Super Bowl will be hosted, until the start of Week 1. You can’t build a following when fans don’t know simple aspects such as who’s playing on what team. LIV wants to be taken seriously but can’t get out of its own way.

With the PIF funding the operation, the league has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record with guaranteed money and multi-million-dollar deals. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. Members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist. PIF governor and LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is also facing a potential $74 million lawsuit in Canadian court for allegedly “having carried out instructions” of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with “malicious intent” of “harming, silencing and ultimately destroying” the family of an ex-intelligence chief.

When key details aren’t released promptly, and officials continue to miss their own pre-determined deadlines for announcements, the league looks more and more like what many outsiders perceive it to be: a calculated political maneuver.

Now more than ever LIV needs the golf to stand out. The framework agreement between the Tour, PIF and DP World Tour to create a for-profit entity, known as PGA Tour Enterprises, stated the PGA Tour would decide LIV’s future based on an “empirical data-driven evaluation” and that commissioner Jay Monahan and the board would “determine the ongoing plan and strategy. LIV officials, including Greg Norman himself, have pushed back on this notion.

Al-Rumayyan, the prospective chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises, loves the idea of team golf. Even though fans haven’t flocked to LIV just yet, the concept has proven to be successful at times, especially at the season-ending Team Championship. Expect some version of LIV or team golf to be part of the new entity if a deal is agreed on and then passed. If there’s no deal, it’s safe to assume LIV will venture on as is and continue to be a rock in the Tour’s shoe.

Like the rest of professional golf, LIV’s future is uncertain. Thanks to the extended deadline for negotiations, the league now has a few more months to prove its worth and status in the game. It’s not off to the best start.

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Lynch: Ugly allegations about its Saudi partner are a worrying omen for the PGA Tour

On paper, Al-Rumayyan’s latest entanglement could be viewed as a squabble between stooges for a despotic government.

During whatever passes for his quiet moments these days, Jay Monahan must yearn for the time when his news consumption was principally focused on the sports and business pages, those being the areas most consequential to his remit as commissioner of the PGA Tour. Nowadays, he must also turn to international affairs, one assumes with a knot in his gut at what might await.

This week, one dispatch was downright ulcerative.

A lawsuit accused the Tour’s soon-to-be partner, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, of taking part in a malicious campaign to punish a dissident defector whose children have been imprisoned for four years without due process. Allegations leveled in lawsuits are often hyperbolic, of course. Many colorful claims evaporate when oaths are administered or are dismissed with something approximating derision by a court, at least in the case of one chap who seems to think that both jurisprudence and the rules of golf are matters of personal interpretation.

On paper, Al-Rumayyan’s latest entanglement could be viewed as a squabble between stooges for a despotic government. His accuser is Dr Saad Aljabri, the former chief of Saudi intelligence. Aljabri claims that companies under Al-Rumayyan’s control have been used to apply pressure on his family, and it’s not the first time an asset in the PIF portfolio has been implicated in nefarious activity. A charter jet company seized by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and transferred to Al-Rumayyan’s fund was later alleged to have been used in the murder of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi. There has been no suggestion that Al-Rumayyan was involved in that gruesome act, but there’s still reason for his business associates to be apprehensive.

Al-Rumayyan enjoys a reputation as a sophisticated, savvy dealmaker (his bankrolling of Greg Norman’s ego notwithstanding) but he’s like everyone else in Saudi Arabia’s state apparatus: a factotum for MBS. These are not people likely to demur if called upon to act on a matter close to the Crown Prince’s heart. There’s evidence of what MBS has been known to ask of loyalists — particularly those who have demonstrated proficiency with a bonesaw — so anyone who is in business with the Saudi fund can’t delay scanning the international news section until after they’re done with the funnies.

Whatever troublesome relationships the Tour has encountered in the past — say, a sponsoring bank that defrauds customers (Wells Fargo) or an occasional Ponzi schemer (Allen Stanford) — the wrongdoing wasn’t known in advance of contracts being signed. No blissful ignorance defense exists when it comes to the sovereign wealth fund of a government with a lousy human rights record. Nor does this situation mirror Saudi involvement in other sports, like F1 or cricket. There’s an enormous difference between sponsorship and ownership, and if agreement is reached with PIF, the U.S. and European tours — and the private investors of Strategic Sports Group — risk having to ‘own’ more than mere equity. Harvard Business School can’t teach one how to predict the perils of a direct relationship with an autocratic regime headed by a capricious prince who doesn’t take well to criticism. But then, it shouldn’t have to.

A blueprint exists in how to handle proximity to abuses, though. It has been furnished by the LIV golfers who slavishly refer to Al-Rumayyan as His Excellency, often shortened to “H.E.” in a hollow attempt to suggest familiarity that elevates them above serf status. The strategy is to brazen it out, prevaricate if questioned, insist the association is strictly commercial, and repeatedly point to other entities that also take Saudi investment. It works. The past few years have proven that revenue is exculpatory in the minds of many, based on the wretched assumption that everyone would overlook cruelties for cash if presented the option.

If a day arrives when Monahan is forced to explain his organization’s adjacency to another Saudi outrage, it shouldn’t be overlooked that this partnership wasn’t brought about by the imperial ambitions of executives in Ponte Vedra or Wentworth. It’s happening because the best players in the world feel entitled to compensation beyond their worth in any rational market. By presenting a ransom demand that only the Saudis will pay, golfers on the PGA Tour are forcing a deal that absolves them of individual decision-making responsibility. And if there’s a reputational price to be paid for that later, well, it’s like bad yardages or swing slumps. Someone else will take the fall.

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Meet the Strategic Sports Group investors, PGA Tour and Saudi PIF executives vying for a place in pro golf’s future

Both tours, the SSG and PIF have an unprecedented opportunity to reshape professional golf as we know it.

On Dec. 10, the PGA Tour’s policy board announced it had agreed to advance discussions with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) – an outside investment group comprised of U.S.-based professional sports team investors. This, of course, came six months after the PGA Tour, DP World and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund entered a shocking framework agreement to create a for-profit entity known as PGA Tour Enterprises.

On New Year’s Eve, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan updated players on the “meaningful progress” made in negotiations with the SSG and that while the framework agreement deadline of Dec. 31 with the PIF was missed, discussions with the Saudi-backed fund remained “active and productive.”

If both the SSG and PIF are involved as much as $7 billion may be in play, according to ESPN. Both tours, the SSG and PIF have an unprecedented opportunity to reshape professional golf as we know it. The decisions made over the next weeks and months could see the game propelled into the future. But if agreements aren’t reached and the division at the pro level continues, the sport we all love could quickly become tennis, where only the majors receive in-depth coverage while the week-to-week action on tour is relegated to a footnote.

From the consortium of SSG investors to the PIF and PGA Tour executives involved, get to know the people who may have a prominent place in professional golf’s future.

MORE: Breaking down the impact of extending PGA Tour, Saudi PIF and investor negotiations

Report: LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan could face $74 million lawsuit in Canadian court

The potential lawsuit comes at a bad time for not just LIV Golf, but also the PGA Tour.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan – the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the chairman of LIV Golf  – could be facing a $74 million lawsuit, according to a report in The Athletic.

Legal papers that were sent to Al-Rumayyan at various PIF addresses in Saudi Arabia, New York and London (as well as the stadium of PIF-owned Newcastle United in England) allege the 53-year-old “carried out the instructions” of current Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with “the malicious intent” of “harming, silencing and ultimately destroying” the family of the Kingdom’s former intelligence chief, Dr. Saad Aljabri. The Aljabri family is seeking $74 million in damages.

Aljabri was a top aide to former Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was removed from his post in 2017 and has been in detention since 2020. At the time, Reuters reported bin Nayef had been forced to step aside “in an effective palace coup,” but a Saudi official said the claim was “unfounded and untrue in addition to being nonsense.”

From The Athletic:

The claim Aljabri hopes to bring against Al-Rumayyan will, if the Canadian court grants permission, allege that defendants including Al-Rumayyan were “directly involved” in a three-and-a-half-year campaign between June 2017 and January 2021 to pursue the family of Saad Aljabri, who is a former top aide to Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.

Why a Canadian court? Aljabri fled Saudi Arabia for Turkey in 2017 and then made his way to Canada. Three years ago, Saudi state-owned firms claimed in a Canadian lawsuit that Aljabri had embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars of state funds, an accusation that Aljabri has denied.

The documents sent to Al-Rumayyan this month ask the Canadian court for permission for Al-Rumayyan and others to not only be added to an existing court case, but for a new claim to be brought against them as well. The PIF and board member Mohammed Al Al-Sheik have also been listed as intended co-defendants in the legal papers.

The potential lawsuit comes at a bad time for both LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. The Saudi-backed circuit is less than a month from hosting its first event of 2024 in Mexico and the Tour is currently engaged in conversations with the PIF and outside investors to form a for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. The PIF is governed by Al-Rumayyan and bin Salman is its chairman. Al-Rumayyan was also originally tabbed to be the chairman of the new entity’s board if an agreement is reached.

For more on the history of tension between Crown Prince Bin Salman and Aljabri and the Kingdom’s involvement in its sovereign wealth fund, read the full report here.

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PGA Tour updates players on investors as negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund extend into 2024

The framework agreement discussions will extend into 2024 after the Dec. 31 deadline was missed.

The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will not meet the Dec. 31 deadline to create a for-profit entity laid out in the framework agreement announced back in June, but the Tour did provide its players with an update on the status of negotiations on New Year’s Eve.

On Dec. 10, the Tour’s policy board announced it had advanced discussions with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) – an investment group headlined by Fenway Sports Group that included Marc Attanasio, Arthur Blank, Gerry Cardinale and Cohen Private Ventures – and that it had not shut the door on the PIF.

A memo sent to the membership on Sunday from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan covered three primary points as the Tour continues to negotiate with both parties. From the Tour:

  • First, Monahan noted that “we have made meaningful progress” in negotiations with SSG and are currently working toward finalization of terms and drafting necessary documents.
  • Secondly, with just hours until the Dec. 31 expiration date for the Framework Agreement with the PIF and DP World Tour, the memo spoke to an effort to extend the deadline into the new year based on the progress made to date. Monahan categorized the PIF and DP World Tour discussions as “active and productive.”
  • Finally, the memo restated the Tour’s goal relative to all negotiations, which is to bring SSG, PIF and the DP World Tour on board as minority co-investors in PGA Tour Enterprises in 2024. Monahan said, “These partnerships will allow us to unify, innovate and invest in the game for the benefit of the players, fans and sponsors.”

In other words, there’s no real update other than the confirmation that a deal won’t be struck by the start of 2024. Negotiations are still ongoing with both the PIF and SSG and all sides are working towards coming together to get a deal done.

The Tour returns to action this week with the first event of its 2024 season, The Sentry, Jan. 4-7 at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii.

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PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to meet with Saudi Arabia’s PIF governor, confirms ‘firm target’ of Dec. 31 for deal

“The PGA Tour is going to be in a position where the athletes are owners in their sport,” Monahan said.

Jay Monahan confirmed Wednesday negotiations remain ongoing concerning the PGA Tour’s framework agreement to create a new, for-profit golf entity alongside Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The Tour’s embattled commissioner spoke at the New York Times’ DealBook summit and also said he plans to meet with the PIF’s governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan next week to “advance conversations” and the Dec. 31 deadline is still a “firm target.”

“We’re having conversations with multiple parties,” said Monahan, echoing statements Tiger Woods made earlier in the week. The commissioner also noted “another co-investor with significant experience in business and sports” could be included.

Golfweek was first to report the short list of outside investors earlier this month, which included the likes of Fenway Sports Group and a group of influential individuals referred to as Friends of Golf.

“The PGA Tour is going to be in a position where the athletes are owners in their sport,” Monahan said of the planned for-profit entity. “What’s most important to our players is that they go from the model of being independent contractors to being owners.”

Woods was surprised and frustrated by the announcement of the framework agreement back in June and has since joined the PGA Tour Policy Board as a player director.

“I think all the parties are talking and we’re aggressively working on trying to get a deal done … We have multiple options. But still, we would we’d like to have a deal done December 31,” Woods said Tuesday. “And that’s what the agreement said and all parties understand that. But there are other options out there.”

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Fans, Donald Trump, the players and more winners and losers from LIV Golf’s second year

In 2023 the players and fans were both winners and losers.

Ask anyone who works for LIV Golf and they’ll tell you all eyes are on 2024 and beyond now that another season is in the books.

Following its inaugural eight-event series in 2022, this year marked the debut of the rebranded LIV Golf League, which saw the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund host 14 events around the world, from Mayakoba to Jeddah. The league didn’t quite dominate as much of the conversation in 2023 as it did last year, but still held down (and even expanded in some places) its footing in golf’s larger ecosystem.

As the league transitions into what could make for a busy offseason, let’s take a look back at the biggest winners and losers from LIV Golf’s second season.

Report: PGA Tour evaluating alternative sources of capital beyond current framework agreement with PIF

“We put in a bid. It’s one of the great sports. I love it. You know, I think we could add to it what we’ve added to all of our sports.”

How are things progressing in the PGA Tour’s efforts to move forward on the framework agreement it signed in June with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund? It depends who you ask.

ESPN reported “that while the negotiations with PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and other officials with the country’s sovereign wealth fund are ongoing, the proposed deal is far from getting done for a variety of reasons, including PIF officials wanting more control of the new for-profit enterprise. Sources said the Saudis are also digging in their heels on incorporating team golf into the sport’s future global ecosystem.”

Earlier this week, PGA Tour executive Jason Gore sent a memo to players providing an update. As first reported by ESPN, Gore wrote, “We remain focused on reaching a Definitive Agreement with PIF and the DP World Tour, but not surprisingly, these negotiations have resulted in unsolicited outreach and proposals from a number of other interested investors. All of this activity reinforces the Tour’s strong position and our potential for growth.”

Could the Tour end up going another direction and avoiding the scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Justice’sAnitrust Division? It’s a direction that Randall Stephenson, in his letter of resignation as an independent director of the PGA Tour’s board, suggested the Tour should consider. He wrote, “I hope, as this board moves forward, it will comprehensively rethink its governance model and keep its options open to evaluate alternative sources of capital beyond the current framework agreement.”

Bloomberg previously named three bidders last month, including Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. In May, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said on the Freakonomics podcast that, at the behest of LIV’s Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, the company had been considering investing a billion dollars in LIV until Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan persuaded him to reconsider.

Speaking at a Bloomberg conference this week, Emanuel confirmed the company is interested in buying a stake in the Tour.

“We put in a bid. It’s one of the great sports. I love it. You know, I think we could add to it what we’ve added to all of our sports.”

Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and has strong ties to Monahan, who formerly worked there, and Henry Kravis, of “Barbarians at the Gate” fame as co-founder of the investment firm KKR & Co., were also mentioned by Bloomberg as potential U.S. investors.

Bloomberg reported last month that Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. and Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Premier League team Liverpool F.C., were exploring investing in the PGA Tour as a “possible alternative transaction” to the pending deal with PIF. Bloomberg reported that Henry Kravis, co-founder of the investment firm KKR & Co., was among other U.S. investors contemplating a potential deal with the PGA Tour.

Emanuel said that his company was competing with “like seven other bidders.” According to an ESPN source privy to the state of the negotiations, “at least 10” private equity groups and other investors have had discussions about investing in the PGA Tour. “If the negotiations with PIF fail, the PGA Tour’s goal would be to build a $2 billion ‘war chest’ equal to what the Saudis had committed to investing in the Tour,” ESPN reported.

Collin Neville, who was hired as a consultant to the PGA Tour, also leads the sports practice at the Raine Group, a venture capital firm, and previously led the Premier Golf League’s unsuccessful negotiations with the DP World Tour, clearly sees the potential for reimagining the Tour’s non-profit status in a for-profit world.

For now, the Tour appears to be moving forward with PIF. Monahan teamed with board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy to strike the framework agreement after a series of secret meetings with PIF governor Al-Rumayyan and announced the creation of a new for-profit business entity on June 6.

The framework agreement expires Dec. 31, though there have been reports it could be extended into 2024.