PGA Tour’s merger with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers, PIF, is ‘falling apart’ after New York-based private equity firm submits rival monster bid – with it ‘increasingly likely’ golf’s civil war is back on

The framework agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is falling apart, according to a report.

Golf’s two warring sides had seemingly called a truce in June when the PGA Tour made a shocking U-turn and agreed to an investment from Saudi Arabia’s PIF.

However, it appears the sport’s civil war is rearing its ugly head again as the deal between the PGA Tour and PIF is on the verge of collapse. Alan Shipnuck.

Shipnuck, who last month released his book “LIV and Let Die,” which details the ugly fallout from the bitter civil war between the PGA Tour and the Saudi leading group, claimed that New York-based private equity firm Fenway Partners had made a bid has released that could take over the PIFs.

The Tour is said to be committed to a new business model, but not necessarily PIF, Shipnuck said. He added that the framework agreement was ambitious rather than “binding”.

He suggested that the two sides announced the truce without fully sorting out the logistics, claiming that the press release about the merger “should have said, ‘Suits have been dropped, we’ll figure out the rest later.’

The merger marked a major win for LIV Golf, which was shunned by many of the sport’s icons, including Tour legends Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, who reportedly turned down a $1 billion deal to defect in 2022.

However, there were also doubts about the future of the breakout, as it suggested that once PIF had its claws in the PGA Tour, LIV’s purpose as a gateway to the sport was nil.

And Shipnuck suggested that the collapse of the framework agreement for LIV could be considered, as PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan would return to the rebel circuit without the PGA Tour in his pocket.

Al-Rumayyan could be more motivated to funnel more money into LIV to lure in a new wave of big names with lucrative deals, as he would have to rely more on the breakout without the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to get by to be promoted.

LIV Golf has been criticized for its ties to Saudi Arabia’s controversial Public Investment Fund (PIF), with critics accusing the kingdom of ‘sporting’ its human rights record. LIV defectors have since been pilloried over accusations of greed.

The June merger ended ongoing litigation between the two factions.

While the PGA was accused of violating antitrust laws by banning LIV players from the Tour, the premier golf circuit countered its Saudi-backed rivals, accusing the team of interfering in its deals.

More to follow.