New Year’s Eve Memo Sheds More Light on Status of LIV Merger Deal

Despite what PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said was a “firm target” of Dec. 31, it appears that negotiations among the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) are going to a playoff after 72 holes.

Even though Monahan said in December that the self-imposed date of Dec. 31 to finalize the framework agreement among the parties likely wasn’t to change, there were reports that the deadline could be extended if the sides were close to a final agreement.

After a quiet two weeks to wrap up 2023, Monahan sent players a memo in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve announcing the extension.

Here’s the full memo from Jay Monahan updating membership on negotiations. No mention of a specific date for the PIF deadline extension, but that they’re working to extend talks pic.twitter.com/OB9UEifyM6

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) December 31, 2023

“While we had initially set a deadline of December 31, 2023, to reach an agreement [with DPWT and PIF], we are working to extend our negotiations into next year based on the progress we have made to date,” the memo read.

In addition to all three parties working to create a for-profit golf entity, the PGA Tour is also working on a deal with Strategic Sports Group, which would give a cash infusion into either the PGA Tour or the new company.

“We have made meaningful progress and have provided SSG with the due diligence information they requested,” the memo read. “As we move forward in our discussions, we are focused on the finalization of terms and drafts of necessary documents.”

SSG is a consortium of mainly owners in team sports and is led by Fenway Sports, which owns the Boston Red Sox, among other pro teams.

The memo stated that SSG and the PIF would be “minority co-investors” into the new company, which will be called PGA Tour Enterprises. 

Cover Image via X