In a surprise announcement Tuesday morning that came after a year of bitter fracturing in men’s professional golf, the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour announced an agreement to merge their business operations.
The ramifications of the development are still unraveling, as a 4 p.m. ET meeting has been scheduled for PGA Tour players, many of whom reported being entirely unaware of the agreement.
Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, along with the DP World Tour, announced the move in a joint statement published Tuesday. The merger aims to create “a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players.”
The terms of the agreement are not fully finalized and are scheduled to be completed in the coming months.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said Tuesday in a statement.
“Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made — to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future.”
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Why is LIV Golf so controversial?
The LIV tour drew criticism because it is funded entirely by the PIF, the sovereign wealth investment fund of the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
What do we know about the terms of the merger agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf?
There are still several key details that are unknown about the merger. For starters, the new entity does not have a name yet.
A key element in the merger is financial. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth investment fund of the Saudi government, “will make a capital investment into the new entity to facilitate its growth and success,” according to the news release. The PIF had been the sole entity to entirely fund the LIV Golf operation.
Additionally, the merger stipulates that the PIF “will initially be the exclusive investor in the new entity” and “will have the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital.”
A newly established board of directors will direct and oversee the new entity’s operations, schedule, investments. PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be part of the new entity’s board of directors and will be on its executive committee. The announcement of the full board will come at a later date.
Additionally, the merger will lead to “a mutually agreed end to all pending litigation between the participating parties.” In August 2022, a number of golfers who joined the LIV tour filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, challenging their suspensions.
The merger stipulates that after the conclusion of the 2023 season, the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour “will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process” to allow players who left the PGA Tour and DP tour to re-apply for membership.
Is the PGA Tour a nonprofit?
While the merger announced the creation of “a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity,” the PGA Tour is retaining its position as “a 501(c)(6) tax exempt organization.”
The difference with the merger, however, is that — in the threat of continued disruption in men’s professional golf — the PGA Tour reversed course and is aligning with the massive influx of Saudi capital.
In an interview on CBS in June 2022, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan ripped the LIV tour over links between the Saudi government and the terrorist attacks on 9/11. In the interview, Monahan spoke about players who joined LIV Golf needing to apologize to the families of those who lost loved ones on 9/11 and asked: “Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?”
What is LIV Golf?
The LIV Golf Invitational Series made its debut in June 2022 after the tour lured some notable players from the PGA Tour such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Others like Brooks Koepka, the winner of the most recent PGA Championship, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith have since joined. The LIV tour presented a disruption in the dynamics of the sport.
The format of play of the tour also presented a shakeup to the PGA Tour.
Events were designed as 54-hole, three-round, no-cut competitions. LIV Golf incorporated shotgun starts to expedite play. Players were split into four-person teams. Purses were divided between individual placement and team placement, offering players more financial incentives to participate.
What has been Tiger Woods' stance on LIV Golf?
In May 2022, Tiger Woods reaffirmed his commitment to the PGA Tour.
“Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the Tour and committed to the legacy of the Tour have pushed back against, and he’s taken some personal time, and we all understand that,” Woods said ahead of the 2022 PGA Championship. “Some of his views on how the Tour could be run, should be run, been a lot of disagreement there. Obviously we’re going to have difference of opinions, how he sees the Tour, and we’ll go from there.”
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman confirmed in August 2022 that the league offered Woods in the neighborhood of $700 million to $800 million to join the Saudi-backed tour.
What have other notable PGA Tour golfers said about LIV Golf?
A number of players who declined to join LIV Golf, such as Rory McIlroy, had been publicly outspoken in their criticism of the Saudi-backed tour.
“There’s no room in the golf world for LIV Golf,” McIlroy said in July 2022. “I don’t agree with what LIV is doing. If LIV went away tomorrow, I’d be super happy.”
What has former U.S. President Donald Trump said about LIV Golf?
During a pro-am event at his Trump National Golf Club May 25, Trump praised LIV Golf and defended his business relationship with the controversial Saudi-funded tour.
“They’ve been great for golf. The Saudis have been fantastic for golf,” Trump said then. “And they’re going to make it a big part of, inside their country, they’re going to do some great courses.”
LIV Golf also has upcoming stops scheduled at Trump courses in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Miami, Florida, later this year.
After the news Tuesday, Trump celebrated the merger on his Truth Social platform, according to CNBC. “Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. Congrats to all!!!”
What happens with LIV Golf players who want to return to PGA Tour events?
This is the big, immediate question with the merger: what happens to former PGA Tour players who were suspended indefinitely for defecting to LIV Golf?
The short answer: there is now a path for them to rejoin the PGA Tour.
Following the 2023 season, LIV and PGA will establish a “fair and objective process” for players who want to re-apply for the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour.
Is LIV Golf going away?
Not quite.
The two sides will “conduct a comprehensive evaluation” to determine how to integrate the team golf format championed by LIV into the pro game.
In the meantime, LIV Golf will fulfill its 2023 season requirements as planned. Seven events remain on the LIV calendar through November 2023.
What is going on with the antitrust lawsuit filed against the PGA Tour?
In August 2022, 11 players who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf filed an antitrust lawsuit to challenge their suspensions from the PGA Tour.
This followed a report from the month before that the United States Department of Justice was investigating the PGA Tour for possible anticompetitive behavior. Augusta National Golf Club, which operates the Masters Tournament, the United States Golf Association and the PGA of America were later revealed to also be part of the investigation.
Since then, lawyers on both sides have battled in various court proceedings to gain leverage. With the merger, however, both sides are mutually agreeing to end all pending litigation against the other.
