Padraig Harrington has weighed in on the shock merger of LIV Golf with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, incredibly including a claim that Ireland "thought it was acceptable to lock up unmarried mothers as late as 1996".
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf agreed to merge commercial operations under common ownership in a surprise development on Tuesday.
The shock announcement came after a year of unprecedented disruption in the men’s professional game following the launch of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.
READ MORE: Rory McIlroy to face questions from media over PGA’s agreement with LIV Golf
Players expressed shock, surprise and a sense of betrayal at the news, with one of LIV's biggest critics Rory McIlroy set to face questions from the media later on Wednesday.
Harrington did admit there was 'sports washing' at play, but also appeared to be in favour of some parts of the deal.
He wrote: "Surprised that this merger has happened so quickly but not surprised it’s happened. Definitely in the financial interest of both sides. Definitely in the financial interest of the players even though some of those who gain will feel like they’re losing. Good for the cohesion of global golf.
"Interesting outcome with the precedent set by @livgolf_league and if there’s one global professional body, they’ll have the power to dictate when and where players play around the world,similar to most professional sports.
"Again without knowing the facts, it seems the @PGATOUR acted quickly. The tour was obviously under pressure delivering on its tv contracts with losing some of it’s marquee players to the new entity @livgolf_league. The tour by acting early, while they still have the upper hand, will end up with the controlling share in world golf.
"Looking at some of the replies, I’m trying to explain why this has happened. It’s hard to overcome the financial/business side of life when you are representing a group with many different backgrounds and morals. My own country sells military technology to Saudi Arabia. So many other compromises. Yes this is sports washing and yes unfortunately it proves sports washing works. But maybe one positive,inclusion and trade has shown to improve and change countries involved for the better. My own country thought it was acceptable to lock up unmarried mothers as late as 1996.
"Just to be clear I didn’t negotiate when asked to join by LIV."
More than a year of contention and litigation between LIV and the established Tours and the players who joined the new competition ended in the most astonishing and abrupt fashion on Tuesday with the announcement that the three bodies had set up a new commercial entity to “unify golf”.
One American player, Wesley Bryan, replied to the PGA Tour tweet confirming the merger by writing: “Love finding out info on Twitter. This is amazing. Y’all should be ashamed and have a lot of questions to answer.
“I feel betrayed, and will not not be able to trust anyone within the corporate structure of the PGA TOUR for a very long time.”
The move came as a huge surprise to many professionals, with Canadian Mackenzie Hughes tweeting: “Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.”
Fellow pro Ben An wrote: “I’m guessing the LIV teams were struggling to get sponsors and PGA Tour couldn’t turn down the money.
“Win-win for both tours but it’s a big lose for who defended the tour for last two years.”
Six-time Major winner Phil Mickelson, one of the players who joined LIV Golf, described the merger as “awesome news”.
The new entity will be powered by Saudi Arabia’s financial muscle, with the statement confirming the merger saying that the Middle Eastern country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would “make a capital investment into the new entity to facilitate its growth and success”.
The PIF would also have the exclusive right to further invest in the commercial entity, the statement said.
Amnesty International expressed concern at what it saw as a further attempt by Saudi Arabia to launder its human rights record through the vehicle of sport.
“While this may have taken some golf fans and commentators by surprise, it’s really just more evidence of the onward march of Saudi sportswashing,” Amnesty UK’s Felix Jakens said.
“It’s been clear for some time that Saudi Arabia was prepared to use vast amounts of money to muscle its way into top-tier golf – just part of a wider effort to become a major sporting power and to try to distract attention from the country’s atrocious human rights record.”
R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers welcomed the news of the agreement, writing in a statement: “We care deeply about golf’s future and are committed to ensuring that the sport continues to thrive for many years to come.
“This agreement represents a huge step toward achieving that goal for golf and we look forward to working with the new entity for the benefit of the sport globally.”
READ NEXT:
John Kiely outlines Limerick path to glory against Clare in Munster final
PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf agree to merge commercial operations in shock move
Irish players regularly won Leagues and Cups in the '80s - so why are we always missing out now?
Roy Keane left red-faced over Premier League predictions as only one selection comes in
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
