Newcastle United and Liverpool owners meet in New York as 'progress made' over deal

The owners of Newcastle United and Liverpool met in New York last week to discuss the future of golf.

Golf has essentially been split in two with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia owning LIV Golf and Strategic Sports Group - headed by Fenway Sports Group - in control the PGA Tour after striking a £3billion investment deal in January.

A host of high-profile names including John Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka left the PGA Tour to join LIV, which sparked somewhat of a civil war. There have been talks over a merger deal for the past year but no arrangement has yet been brokered.

Latest talks took place in the United States capital on Friday with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is also the non-executive chairman of Newcastle, and his team joined by Liverpool owner John W Henry and six others.

Three active PGA Tour players - Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott - and three additional members of the PGA Tour Enterprises Board - Jay Monahan, Joe Gorder and Joe Ogilvie were also in attendance.

"Representatives from the PGA TOUR Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee and the PIF have been meeting multiple times weekly to work through potential deal terms and come to a shared vision on the future of professional golf,” the seven-person PGA TOUR Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee said in a joint statement.

"On Friday evening, an in-person session in New York City included the entire Transaction Subcommittee and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and his team, where more progress was made."

On the discussions, McIlroy said: “We remain committed to these negotiations, which require working through complex considerations to best position golf for global growth,” the Transaction Subcommittee said in the statement. “We want to get this right, and we are approaching discussions with careful consideration for our players, our fans, our partners and the game’s future.”

A merger was announced last summer but the two entities failed to complete the deal before the December 31 deadline. The delay saw Strategic Sports Group swoop in and invest into the PGA Tour.

It's reported the PGA Tour hopes the investment from the SSG will allow them to improve equity opportunities for its players and prevent more deflecting to the PIF-backed league. Currently, LIV is trailing behind the more established league in audience and viewer figures.