Golf ’s Netflix series ‘Full Swing’ is set to capture the reaction of players after the shock PGA and LIV merger.
Those associated with the sport were left stunned when the announcement was made regarding the union of the two circuits. Both tours have been involved in a bitter feud over the last year, as those who stayed with the PGA criticised those who defected to LIV for huge contracts being offered by the Saudi-backed tour.
As a result, LIV rebels had their PGA membership revoked or were kicked off the tour. But the civil war which has embroiled the sport came to an abrupt end with players finding out via social media announcements that a deal to merge had been reached.
It has now emerged the sport’s fly-on-the-wall documentary series was on hand to capture the response of the players to the bombshell announcement. ‘Full Swing’ Producer Chad Mumm confirmed that the show is currently filming season two and the cameras were rolling when the news broke. “You better believe we were filming when this broke. #FullSwing,” he tweeted.
It is likely they were filming content at the RBC Canadian Open, which is set to commence on Thursday and marks the same event that was held by the PGA on the weekend of LIV’s very first tournament. The production crew is expected to have been on hand to speak to the golfers and witness their immediate reactions to the news.
Several PGA players were left furious with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods unaware of the mega move. The duo were two of the tour’s biggest defenders and both rejected multi-million pound offers to join LIV.
Neither player has made any public comments about the merger as yet, but privately expressed their displeasure at being kept in the dark. The Northern Irishman attended a meeting at the Canadian Open where furious players spoke about their anger at finding out the news via social media.
Asked if he regretted not speaking with players like Woods and McIlroy before going through with the deal, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said: “Listen, again, what we've agreed to here is a framework agreement, and the binding elements are tied to the litigation. A lot of these details we've got to work through.
“If we had announced a definitive agreement this morning and I was calling them in the morning and I had made commitments on behalf of the PGA Tour and not had an opportunity to fully vet them with our policy board and with those two individuals in a larger group, then that would be a complete miss on my part, and I recognise that."
He added: “But this was us reaching a framework agreement. We think it's the right agreement. Obviously Tiger and Rory's perspective is one that I understand very well, and it was part of my thinking throughout these conversations, and it will be a part of my thinking going forward. Now that we're in a framework agreement, I look forward to talking to all of our players, including the two of them, to make certain that this comes off the right way.”
