R&A, USGA, PGA, PIP, LIV, PIF, SSG. WTF do all of these mean?
It’s a fair question and one 99% of golf fans are probably asking themselves with the typical sleepy month of December turning into a scorcher of news and rumors. Thanks again, climate change.
Information surfaced Sunday evening — first via a leaked player memo and then through the PGA Tour itself — of another acronym joining the fold in SSG. The Strategic Sports Group is the latest three-lettered group to arrive at the party as the consortium of U.S.-based sports team owners looks to be the girl the PGA Tour has asked to dance.
In the memo, the PGA Tour policy board informed members of its plans to further negotiate with SSG for outside investment in the Enterprise Starship. In addition to unanimously voting to continue conversations with SSG, the board plans to advance negotiations with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in the upcoming weeks as the Dec. 31 deadline set forth by the June 6 framework agreement draws closer.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan are scheduled to meet this week, according to those close to the matter.
Meanwhile, SSG is comprised of many of the heavy hitters who were involved in TGL (RIP) — Arthur Blank (Falcons), Steven Cohen (Mets), Fenway Sports Group (Red Sox, Penguins, Liverpool FC) and a handful of others.
Not to sound too dramatic, but this threesome might be the only way forward for the PGA Tour and professional golf as a whole. SSG brings sensibility and will serve as the adult in the room given their extensive experience in the sports space. PIF brings its bankroll and a slew of top players. The PGA Tour brings history, credibility, infrastructure and, of course, golf.
Sense, money and unity — three problems the game currently faces — would all be solved if this transaction were to go through. Hell, the PGA Tour may even select the 30% tip option on the iPad at checkout if it were to pull this one off. SSG would win by adding another sports vehicle to its investment portfolio — a sports league no less. The PIF would win by having a seat (maybe even THE seat) at the table and would take a massive step in its overarching plan of diversifying Saudi holdings. A deal with the PGA Tour and SSG would also send a signal to uneasy groups that they are fine to work with.
Win. Win. Win.
It should also be noted that before starting with the PGA Tour, Monahan served as an executive vice president at FSG. It may not mean anything, but it leads me to believe even the most criticized man in golf will come out of this a winner.
I hope I didn’t lose you there. Stay with me.
Those who follow my content — and my way of thinking — know I love a good conspiracy theory, and the term “Trojan horse” has been used within the context of professional golf more over the last two years than it had the prior 200.
Was LIV Golf a Trojan horse for Yasir Al-Rumayyan to get his seat at the table?
Was the deal between the PGA Tour and PIF a Trojan horse for the Saudis to take over the sport?
Was Jon Rahm’s timely departure to LIV Golf a Trojan horse to bring together the PGA Tour and PIF?
Was Monahan’s ineptitude a Trojan horse for him to bring a sports league to his friends and family in Boston?
While perhaps not intentional, Monahan’s handling of PIF, LIV and the PGA Tour may set him up to be a hero to those closest to him. It’s a baffling sentence to type out, and I may be giving Jay Bird way too much credit given his track record, but think about.
It is thought once the dust settles Monahan will be run out of Ponte Vedra. It will be time for new leadership. It will be time for someone else to man the wheel and drive the PGA Tour down the road of whatever vision they generate based on the outcome of this deal.
After breaking off a long-term relationship, every guy’s first move is to hit up his ex which in Monahan’s case is FSG. A return to the sports conglomerate makes almost too much sense — he has worked there before, he will have just delivered them the PGA Tour and he makes for a logical liaison in the investment. The pay will be handsome, the hours will be less stressful and Monahan will be seen as a Massachusetts man who just brought a sports league to his backyard.
Win?