PGA Tour commissioner calls PIF deal deadline 'firm target' - ESPN

NASSAU, Bahamas — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is scheduled to meet with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, next week to continue negotiations on a potential alliance, and Monahan said he hopes to reach a deal with the PIF and at least one other investor before the end of the year.

Monahan, speaking at The New York Times' DealBook Summit in New York City on Wednesday night, called the Dec. 31 deadline for a framework agreement with the PIF and DP World Tour a «firm target.»

«We're having conversations with multiple parties,» Monahan said. «The deadline for our conversations with PIF, as you know, is a firm target. I'll be with Yasir next week, and we continue to advance our conversations. And I think it's pretty well known that there's a large number of other interested parties that we're also pushing to think about.»

Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, Liverpool F.C. of the Premier League and other sports properties, has emerged as one of the leading U.S.-based investors, along with KKR & Co. investment firm co-founder Henry Kravis.

At a U.S. Congressional hearing regarding the pending deal on July 12, PGA Tour chief operating officer Ron Price revealed that the PIF has pledged to invest more than $1 billion in the new for-profit entity, known as PGA Tour Enterprises, that will be controlled by the PGA Tour.

Sources previously told ESPN that the PGA Tour was considering another U.S.-based investor — along with the PIF — because of concerns about government scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division expanded its investigation of the PGA Tour's alleged monopolistic practices to include the proposed framework agreement.

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