PGA Tour Raises $1.5 Billion From Group of U.S. Investors

The move, which involves the Fenway Sports Group, raises questions about whether a deal to combine forces with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund is still necessary. The deal would give the PGA Tour a significant amount of cash at a time when it is facing steep competition from its well-financed rival, LIV Golf, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The tentative agreement with the U.S. investors is far less likely to draw fire from clubhouses and Congress than the earth-shattering one the PGA Tour struck in June to combine forces with the Saudis. Among the U.S. investors joining Fenway Group are some of the most well-known names in sports and finance: Marc Lasry, founder of the hedge fund Avenue Capital and a former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks; Tom Ricketts, chairman of the Chicago Cubs; Steven Cohen, the New York Mets owner via his family office, the Cohen Group; and Gerald Cardinale, founder of the investment firm RedBird Capital Partners. Four members of the U.S. investor group will also join the board, including John Henry, the chief executive of Fenway and Arthur Blank, the co-founder of Home Depot.