Tiger Woods wipes his grip on the 18th tee box during the first round of the PGA TOUR Champions PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 17, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.
Ben Jared | PGA Tour | Getty Images
A coalition of U.S. sports investors led by Fenway Sports Group has entered the final round of negotiations to become co-investors in a potential deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the PGA Tour announced Sunday.
The Fenway-led consortium, called Strategic Sports Group, includes a variety of investors and private equity names such as Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck, Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and Cohen Private Ventures, a venture capital firm owned by Steve Cohen, owner of New York Mets.
The investor list includes Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, Liverpool Football Club owner John Henry and Boston Red Sox owner Tom Werner.
The announcement noted that Strategic Sports Group was selected after a rigorous review of offers from other third-party investors. The PGA Tour had previously rejected a proposal from TKO majority owner Endeavor Group Holdings.
As it shrinks its investor pool, the PGA Tour said it would seek further negotiations with the Saudi PIF in the coming weeks.
The news comes as time is running out for the PGA Tour to secure its long-awaited deal with the PIF, which owns the DP World Tour and LIV Golf. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan previously said the parties aim to complete the deal by December 31.
The PGA Tour and the PIF agreed to the merger in June, but have gone back and forth on the specific deal terms, in part because of resistance from major PGA Tour players like Rory McIlroy. The deal also faced questions from lawmakers who are skeptical of Saudi Arabia's intentions and claim the country may be trying to gain influence in the US through sports investments.
– CNBC's Jessica Golden contributed to this report.