FSG president John Henry.
Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
Fenway Sports Group(FSG), Liverpool FC’s owners, have spearheaded a landmark $3 billion investment in professional golf, leading a consortium called Strategic Sports Group (SSG) in acquiring a stake in the newly formed PGA Tour Enterprises – with Saudi Arabia now involved.
John Henry, FSG’s principal owner, emerged as the key figure who assembled this powerful group of North American sports owners.
The deal involves an initial $1.5 billion investment, with the potential for an additional $1.5 billion, adding to the total value of PGA Tour Enterprises at approximately $12.3 billion.
This new entity will manage the Tour’s commercial operations, including tournaments and media rights, with FSG playing a crucial advisory role.
FSG’s involvement in golf began taking shape in late 2023 when they launched Boston Common Golf, their TGL team at Fenway Park.
This indoor golf league, co-owned by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, served as FSG’s initial foray into professional golf, with John Henry acknowledging it was “rooted in the hopes of doing something bigger in golf”
For FSG, this represents another significant expansion of their sports portfolio, which already includes Liverpool FC, the Boston Red Sox, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The investment demonstrates FSG’s ability to identify and secure major opportunities in global sports.
What does FSG have to do with Saudi Arabia?
A simple assessment of what is happening in the golfing world involving FSG would be far more efficient than long-winded explanations.
Professional golf split into two competing tours last year: the traditional PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
LIV Golf, funded by Saudi Arabia’s enormous wealth fund (PIF), began offering hundreds of millions to top players like Jon Rahm (£450 million) to leave the PGA Tour.
This created a crisis in professional golf, with the PGA Tour unable to match these astronomical offers.
But it seems this civil war could be coming to an end soon.
Bloomberg has reported the latest on proceedings, with Saudi Arabia’s PIF (Newcastle’s owners) nearing a deal to acquire a minority stake in the PGA Tour- the same enterprise that FSG’s consortium invested in.
FSG and the Saudis are now working together in an unusual way:
FSG’s $3 billion investment created a new company called PGA Tour Enterprises
The Saudis (PIF) are close to buying a 6% stake in this same company
John Henry is personally involved in negotiations with the Saudis
This creates an interesting situation because:
FSG and PIF are rivals in football (Liverpool vs Newcastle)
But they’re now becoming business partners in golf
Both groups will sit on the board of PGA Tour Enterprises
Of course, more investment into the PGA Tour Enterprises could mean that FSG receives more revenue.
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