The PGA Tour have recently announced a multi-billion pound deal with the Strategic Sports Group without the input of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia
LIV Golf star Dustin Johnson has not taken much notice to the PGA Tour’s decision to join forces with Strategic Sports Group (SSG).
Last month, the Tour made an announcement stating that they had entered into a business partnership with SSG. SSG has committed to investing £2.4 billion ($3bn) into PGA Tour Enterprises, the Tour’s newly established for-profit entity.
This agreement comes seven months after the Tour initially revealed its plans to collaborate with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).
An agreement between the PGA Tour and PIF was anticipated to resolve their contentious dispute with LIV Golf, as the tour was likely to reinstate the players it had previously suspended for transitioning to the Saudi league. As of now, there is still no agreement between the two competitors, as the American circuit has instead formed a partnership with SSG.
This situation might be worrisome for those affiliated with the LIV setup, but one of its prominent figures, Johnson, seemed unconcerned.
Quizzed on his thoughts on the PGA Tour-SSG alliance, he told the Daily Mail: “To be honest, I have no idea. I mean, obviously I know the gist of it – it’s a group that’s investing some money into the tour… but that’s about as far as it goes. I haven’t read anything on it.”
Not all of his fellow LIV stars have been as blasé though, with Bryson DeChambeau welcoming the investment, despite LIV’s lack of involvement. “Look, I don’t know exactly how it’s all going to shake out, when it’s all said and done,” he said last month.
“I don’t know what it really means for the PIF’s position in it. What I can say is that any investment into the game of golf is gigantic, especially on their side.” Hoping the SSG deal could aid peace between the Tour and LIV, he went on: “You’re just going to see both entities continue to grow, and I hope at some point we’ll come back together. It needs to happen.
“I have the expectation that individuals can simply set aside their weapons and gather together to resolve the issue, as this is beneficial for the game of golf and for fans in general. However, as I mentioned before, any extra investment in the game of golf is consistently advantageous. I have always expressed this belief.
In December, the merger plan between the two circuits and the DP World Tour suffered a setback when they failed to meet the deadline set in June to finalize the agreement.
However, despite this setback and the SSG investment, the PGA Tour is still engaged in negotiations with PIF and anticipates reaching a deal before the Masters tournament in April.