Only players who remained loyal to the PGA Tour will receive equity shares in the new for-profit company formed following the merger with the LIV Golf and the DP World Tour, it has been claimed.
On Friday, PGA Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne revealed current members will receive equity in the new enterprise based on an undisclosed formula. However, those who left for the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf - including the likes of Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson - will not be entitled to the same opportunity.
Thew news will be a relief for Jon Rahm, Cameron Young and others who reportedly turned down guaranteed deals worth up to $100million (£80m) to stay with the traditional PGA Tour. Meanwhile, stars like Bryson DeChambeau accepted more than $125m (£100m) to defect to LIV Golf.
“The new [company] would grow, and the [current PGA Tour] players would get a piece of equity that would enhance and increase in value as time went on,” Dunne told ESPN. “There would have to be some kind of formulaic decision on how to do that. It would be a process to determine what would be a fair mechanism that would be really beneficial to our players.”
Dunne helped broker the deal between the PGA Tour’s remarkable alliance with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) financing LIV Golf. Dunne - who is also a member of Augusta National Golf Club, the home of The Masters - will serve on the new company’s board.
He also revealed PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is set to be in control of LIV Golf under the new agreement, giving him the ultimate power to determine whether the controversial circuit will continue beyond this season. Monahan will serve as CEO of the new entity with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be chairman.
While current LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has told other staff members that the league was eyeing plans to continue operating in 2024 and beyond, reports suggest the breakaway circuit will not survive the remainder of the year. Monahan said he would wait until LIV Golf’s current season concludes in November to evaluate whether the circuit will continue.
If it folds, Dunne claimed a committee - including current PGA Tour members and administrators - will determine the punishment for players who left for for LIV Golf and want to apply for reinstatement to the tour. Dunne added: “I think we would form a panel, including tour players, that would evaluate what the terms would be.
“Remember, they're coming back to compete on the tour, so they have to be confident that they would be good enough to continue to play, and they have to be willing to incur the penalty for having gone.”
ESPN reported that the punishment for those trying to return to the PGA Tour would be considered on a case-by-case basis while the 11 LIV Golf players who sued the tour in federal court could receive stronger penalties than others. Litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV has ended following this week’s stunning developments.
“Players on the LIV [tour] that wanted to reinstate into the PGA Tour would go through a process [and] suspension,” Dunne said. “Whatever the penalty was, they'd have to decide whether they wanted to do that or not and then they could play.”
