FILE PHOTO: Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 14, 2024 Tiger Woods of the U.S. on the 18th hole during the final round REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
(Reuters) -Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are among the golfers expected to be given equity in PGA Tour Enterprises as a thank you for sticking with the Tour instead of jumping to rival LIV Golf, the Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
Woods will receive a $100 million and McIlroy a $50 million stake in the newly-formed enterprise for not taking lucrative offers from the Saudi-backed LIV as merger negotiations between the two circuits continue to drag on.
A substantial portion of current PGA Tour members will be rewarded with equity in the new for-profit entity, according to a memo sent out in February by commissioner Jay Monahan and seen by Reuters.
PGA Tour Enterprises is majority owned by the Tour and bolstered by a $1.5 billion investment by Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of sports team owners, the memo said.
The program will reward top performing members and legends who helped build the modern PGA Tour, the memo said.
The initial round of player equity grants will total $930 million and will be awarded to 193 PGA Tour members, with the majority of that going to the top 36 players as determined by a performance-based formula, the memo said.
All initial grants will require players to compete in 15 or more events on the PGA Tour and/or complete service requirements commensurate with the value of the grant.
A spokesperson for the PGA Tour said the Tour could not comment on any detail of the Telegraph report due to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and private financial information.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los AngelesEditing by Toby Davis)
