Saudi Arabia sponsors of the LIV golf circuit are intensifying plans for a bold offer to buy Wentworth Golf Club.
Mail Sport understands that the Sovereign Fund of Richness of £ 700 billion of the kingdom has not been dissuaded by the resistance of the owners of the prestigious 103 -year club in Surrey while looking for a point of support in the British golf.
If it succeeds, the movement would send a shock wave through sport, since Wentworth is the headquarters of the DP World Tour and where they organize its flagship event, the BMW PGA championship, each fall.
The Chinese owners of Wentworth, The Reignwood Group, are inflexible in which the club is not on sale and insisted on sending the sport during the weekend that there have been no conversations with the Saudi.
A spokesman said: 'Wentworth Club has previously commented that they are not talking with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in relation to the sale of the club and that remains the case.
“Reignwood Group is committed to its long -term vision for Wentworth and continues to invest in the club's facilities.”
The Saudi Arabia PIF is intensifying plans for a bold offer to buy Wentworth Golf Club
Wentworth, located in Virginia Water in Surrey, organizes the BMW PGA championship every year
Yasir Al-Rumayyan (right), in the photo with Rory Mcilroy, is the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and president of the Rival Liv Golf Circuit
It is not clear to what extent the Saudi would be willing to reach the club, which Reignwood Investments, based in Beijing, bought for £ 135 million in 2014.
It is also understood that the Saudi are considering a low profile acquisition of Centurion Golf Club in Hemel Hempstead, where they launched the LIV rebel league to a great controversy in 2022 and returned in 2023, before changing their United Kingdom stop to JCB Golf and Country Club in Staffordshire.
The maneuvers of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which also has Newcastle United, are being monitored closely at the elite end of the golf on both sides of the Atlantic at a critical point in the negotiations on a reunification agreement.
Those conversations between the PIF, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour (previously known as the European tour) have been extended for 21 months since the announcement of shock of a potential fusion in June 2023. Tiger Woods, who has been part of the discussions, gave an optimistic update in February that indicated a close agreement, with Donald Trump having been involved in the efforts of the efforts of the efforts of the efforts of the efforts of the efforts of the efforts of Efforts for a corretero and an agreement.
But a meeting at the White House last month between a delegation of PGA Tour and the head of Pif Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the president of the Newcastle United, left the impression that the parties remain very separate.
Trump had previously appeared in a promise of pre -election to be able to resolve the confrontation within '15 minutes', which was taken as a sign that he could soften the concerns in the possession of the United States Department of Justice that an agreement would violate the antimonopoly laws.
Even with that help, Rory Mcilroy recently revealed that a fusion “does not seem to be closer”, due to a wide variety of other complications. They include the spiny question of what would happen with LIV in its existing form in case of reunification and freedom of movement through tours of LIV star deserters, such as Brooks Koepka, Bryson Dechambeau and Jon Rahm.
All of which has created an intriguing situation for the DP World Tour. They are linked to the PGA tour by a controversial 'strategic alliance' and have regularly declared their desire to see the merger as a priority, but has also left the door open to conversations with the Saudi in case an agreement cannot be reached.
It is also understood that Saudi are considering a low profile acquisition of Centurion Golf Club in Hemel Hempstead
The conversations between the PGA Tour and Liv Golf for a reunification agreement are still ongoing
The latter would undoubtedly dislike Americans and are currently seen as a much less likely possibility.
Experts have interpreted Saudi interest in Wentworth as a negotiating ploy to press the PGA Tour in an agreement, due to the implications of a separate agreement between LIV and DP World Tour.
In November 2024, English golfer Eddie Pepperell caused a frenzy of speculation when stating: 'This week they told me this week someone who would know that he is buying Wentworth. The PIF are buying Wentworth, sure. That is what they told me.
Wentworth issued a solid denial at that time, but multiple sources in the United States and Europe have indicated that Saudi interest has not disappeared.
However, there is a lot of skepticism about the Saudi willingness to pay a nine-digit rate to make the acquisition when the Al-Rumayyan Liv project is running in large losses. Although it is immensely harmful to the golf panorama, the Exhaust League has cost so far in the region of £ 4 billion since the beginning of 2022.
The PIF has been contacted to comment.