08 February 2024 , 13:00
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John W Henry headed up a delegation which met with Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan in Saudi Arabia over the future of golf, it has been claimed.
Liverpool owner Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have investments across a number of different sports. One of these is golf, as part of an investment in the PGA Tour from the Strategic Sports Group consortium.
The future of the tour has come into question since the advent of LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed tour which has attracted a number of big-name players. An initial December 31 deadline for a merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was not met, though Jay Monahan - CEO of the latter - suggested "meaningful progress" had been made amid reports of the deadline being extended.
The SSG investment followed in late January, with Monahan earlier flying out for talks with Al-Rumayyan. Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, has also serves as Newcastle's chairman since the club was taken over in 2021.
According to the Sports Business Journal, Monahan's mid-January trip was as part of a contingent led by Henry. Also present was Sam Kennedy, CEO of the FSG-owned baseball franchise the Boston Red Sox.
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Henry, 74, is said to have played an important role in negotiations thanks to his "ability to listen and not let ego get in the way". According to The Telegraph in January, Monahan and Al-Rumayyan had earlier held a phone conversation before Christmas after an earlier in-person meeting failed to materialise.
Also in mid-January, outgoing DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley told The Telegraph he anticipated a resolution sooner rather than later. “I’m here for the next three months and by then we hope to come to a conclusion and I’ve told the PGA Tour and representatives from PIF that is my primary focus,” he said.
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PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan is also chairman of Newcastle United (Getty Images)“I truly believe it [that a deal can be reached]," Pelley continued. "I’ve believed it for a long time and that is the reason that we entered into the framework agreement [last June] – and we need to move forward.
“I said things would heat up after the Ryder Cup, and they have. So yeah, I’m optimistic over the next couple of months. And that’s the primary reason I’m not leaving straight away."
LIV Golf, which was founded in 2021 and launched its first events in 2022, has attracted a number of big-name former PGA Tour players. Among the stars to make the switch is Masters winner Jon Rahm, though the Spaniard retained hope of returning to PGA Tour events down the line.
"If there's ever a way back and a way where we can play, even if it's as an invite, I will take it," he said ahead of a LIV Golf event in Las Vegas. "There's certain events that are special to me that I would still love to support. It was a lot harder to be at home not competing and know that those events were going on."