Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group has had talks with the PGA Tour about a potential partnership as questions arise about the proposed business agreement with Saudi-funded LIV Golf.
Tom Warner, the chairman of the Fenway Group, confirmed as much in an interview on Monday with CNBC’s Halftime Report.
He was flanked by PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy, who has spoken out often against LIV. The two were on the show primarily to discuss the founding of The Golf League (TGL), the simulator golf league launched by Tiger Woods and McIlroy. It is set to begin play in January, and Fenway owns the league’s Boston franchise, named Boston Common.
“We confirm that we’ve had conversations,” Werner said, but he declined to say anything else about an investment with the PGA Tour.
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Fenway Sports also owns the Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Reports have popped up that the Fenway group could make the PGA Tour a more lucrative offer than the Saudis did.
In June, it was announced that the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund would become allies, with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan chairing the resulting for-profit company and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan serving as chief executive.
While McIlroy has been an outspoken critic of LIV Golf, he said his hope is that the PGA and LIV will find a way to work together for the good of the game.
“I feel like we’ve got a fractured competitive landscape right now,” he said. “And I would prefer if everyone sort of got back into the same boat. I think that’s the best thing for golf.”
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