PGA Tour
U.S. professional sports organization
Background
The PGA Tour was founded in 1968 when touring professionals split from the PGA of America to control their own tournament schedule and finances. For more than five decades it operated as a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt nonprofit, with revenues from broadcast rights and sponsorships flowing to players through prize money and charitable grants. In 2020 it signed nine-year broadcast deals with CBS, NBC, and ESPN worth more than $700 million per year through 2030. The sport was upended in 2022 when Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund launched LIV Golf, a rival circuit that lured top players with large guaranteed contracts, triggering legal disputes and a Congressional antitrust investigation. In June 2023 the Tour shocked observers by announcing a framework agreement to merge commercial operations with the PIF—a deal that stalled amid political and regulatory scrutiny. In January 2024 the Tour created PGA Tour Enterprises and secured a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group, a Fenway Sports Group–led consortium, giving players equity stakes valued above $1 billion. Throughout 2025, Commissioner Jay Monahan and player representatives including Tiger Woods and Adam Scott met with President Trump at the White House, actively soliciting his help to revive PIF merger talks; Monahan publicly praised Trump's intervention as bringing golf 'closer to a final deal.' The Tour also returned a marquee event to Trump National Doral in 2026. A full merger was never completed; Saudi Arabia announced in 2026 it would end LIV Golf funding after that season.
Sources
- PGA Tour agrees to $3B deal with Strategic Sports Group, launches PGA Tour Enterprises – Golf Digest
- PGA Tour commissioner says White House meeting was a 'huge step' – Golf Digest
- PGA Tour's return to Trump Doral completes fascinating pro-golf shift – Golf.com
- LIV Golf restructures as Saudi Arabia ends funding after 2026 season – CBS Sports
- Is the PGA Tour a Nonprofit Organization? – Distractify
- PGA Tour Strikes Massive Golf-Rights Deal With CBS, NBC and ESPN – Variety
- Trump Got More Involved in Golf in 2025 Than Ever Before – Front Office Sports
- Explained: PGA Tour's $3bn deal with Strategic Sports Group – Today's Golfer
Profile compiled 2026-08-13; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.