The ‘framework agreement’ between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has been thrown into serious doubt after it emerged that the American consortium that owns Liverpool Football Club is preparing a ‘monster bid’ for the PGA itself. Shockwaves were sent through the world of golf back in June when PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced that the two warring tours had agreed to drop their lawsuits against each of and instead look to work together on a unified tour alongside the DP World Tour.
Monahan originally described the deal with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf league as a ‘framework agreement’, but with little progress having appeared to have been made since then a new player is seemingly ready to throw a huge spanner in the works.
That’s according to American sports journalist Alan Shipnuck who is claiming that the deal between the owner of LIV, the Private Investment Fund (PIF) and the PGA Tour is close to collapse.
Shipnuck, who recently published a book called ‘LIV and let Die’, which chronologies the ugly power struggle at the top of the sport is claiming that private equity firm Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has submitted a bid for a stake in the PGA Tour that could be bigger than what is on offer from the PIF.
FSG owns a portfolio of global sports clubs including Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox. Shipnuck claims that the PGA Tour is committed to evolving its current business model but not necessarily with PIF.
Furthermore, the journalist believes that the flakey ‘framework agreement’ with LIV was aspirational rather than ‘binding’. Shipnuck has suggested that the waring tours announced a truce without working out any real logistics, claiming that the press release for the announcement “should have said ‘Lawsuits dropped, we’ll figure out the rest later'”.
The agreed merger announced in June brought legal action between the PGA and LIV to an end but negotiations around the deal need to be concluded before a deadline of December 31.
The status quo in elite golf was turned on its head when PIF launched the LIV Golf League in 2022 with all-time great Greg Norman as its commissioner. The breakaway tour successfully lured a number of high-profile players away from the PGA Tour with the promise of huge joining fees and lucrative tournaments played with no cut.
Former Major winners like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson all made the switch, as well as established European stars such as Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.
Don’t miss…
Rory McIlroy ready to end LIV Golf feud after saying he ‘hates’ Saudi tour[COMPROMISE]
Tiger Woods gives first hint at full golf return by repeating old tactic[RETURN]
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy ‘money’ accusation fired over new PGA Tour venture[VERDICT]
- Advert-free experience without interruptions.
- Rocket-fast speedy loading pages.
- Exclusive & Unlimited access to all our content.
Golfing icons Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy both resisted the temptation to defect despite the fortunes on offer, but the announced merger with LIV was seen as a victory for the Saudi-funded league that brought the judgement of loyalty to the PGA into question.
But should the framework agreement collapse, as Shipnuck is suggesting, than PIF may turn their attention solely back to its LIV project and look to pump even more funds into the product.
As reported by Bloomberg and ESPN, a memo sent to PGA Tour players last month stated that while negotiations on the deal were continuing with PIF, the tour was still fielding calls from other interested investors, of which FSG is now being claimed to be one.
Source: Read Full Article