DP World Tour alliance 'remains focus' as PGA Tour strikes $3bn deal with US group

Players on US circuit will collectively access over $1.5bn in equity from PGA Tour Enterprises

Discussions are ongoing between Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA Tour, and Keith Pelley, CEO of The European Tour Group and DP World Tour. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

The PGA Tour insists its Strategic Alliance with the DP World Tour “remains a focus” even though a $3 billion investment deal with Strategic Sport Group (SSG) is only set to benefit players on the US circuit in the first instance.

In the first programme of its kind, nearly 200 PGA Tour members will have the opportunity to become equity holders in PGA Tour Enterprises, a new commercial venture under the circuit’s control.

Under the agreement with SSG, which includes Liverpool FC and baseball team Boston Red Sox owners Fenway Sports Group, “qualified” PGA Tour players will collectively access over $1.5 billion in equity based on career accomplishments, recent achievement, future participation and services.

The new company doesn’t include any investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) but, according to a statement, “both parties are working towards an ultimate agreement” following a framework agreement struck last year, though it will be subject to US Government regulations.

“Today marks an important moment for the PGA Tour and fans of golf across the world,” said Jay Monahan, the circuit’s commissioner and newly-appointed CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises. “By making PGA Tour members owners of their league, we strengthen the collective investment of our players in the success of the PGA Tour.

“Fans win when we all work to deliver the best in sports entertainment and return the focus to the incredible – and unmatched – competitive atmosphere created by our players, tournaments and partners. And partnering with SSG – a group with extensive experience and investment across sports, media and entertainment – will enhance our organisation’s ability to make the sport more rewarding for players, tournaments, fans and partners.”

The new venture has been launched after LIV Golf arrived on the scene in 2022, luring some of the game’s biggest names, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnston and, more recently, Jon Rahm, for huge pots of money. Players who have stayed loyal to the PGA Tour have now been handed a chance to get very rich as well.

“We were proud to vote in unanimous support of this historic partnership between PGA Tour Enterprises and SSG,” said player directors Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods in a joint statement. “It was incredibly important for us to create opportunities for the players of today and in the future to be more invested in their organization, both financially and strategically.

"This not only further strengthens the tour from a business perspective, but it also encourages the players to be fully invested in continuing to deliver - and further enhance - the best in golf to our fans. We are looking forward to this next chapter and an even brighter future.”

As for where the DP World Tour sits in all of this, only time will tell. But the PGA Tour statement insisted the Strategic Alliance between the two traditional tours “remains a focus” and added that it was in “active discussions on how to best work together for the continued benefit of all”.

Scottish No 1 Bob MacIntyre, who is a PGA Tour card holder this year, offered his reaction to news of the deal on X (formerly Twitter). The Oban man wrote: “If the PIF aren’t involved in the PGA deal, then the DP World Tour have to make some sort of deal with them. Only way to make the game move forward is for them to be involved.”