(Reuters) - The PGA Tour's negotiations with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) are accelerating but it is prepared to go it alone with new partners Strategic Sports Group (SSG) if a deal cannot be done, commissioner Jay Monahan said on Tuesday.

Monahan, speaking at TPC Sawgrass where the PGA Tour's flagship event, the 50th Players Championship, gets underway on Thursday, stressed he is focusing all his energy on finalising a deal with the LIV Golf backers, bringing unity to a sport that has been split since the arrival of the rebel circuit and opening up new global growth opportunities.