Phil Mickelson believes the announcement that the PGA Tour will merge with the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf series is 'awesome'.
Golf's civil war had been raging since the LIV Golf series was first announced early last year, which saw the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund sink billions into the sport.
In doing so, the breakaway league signed some of the biggest names in the sport, including Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Mickelson. The latter has been particularly outspoken about the conflict within golf, criticising Rory McIlroy in particular due to the Northern Irishman's strong opposition to the league.
What followed was a heated legal battle over playing rights and Ryder Cup eligibility. Now, however, all legal conflict is over with the unprecedented and stunning news of a merger.
The news was announced just after 3pm UK time, and Mickelson took just minutes before reacting with a cheeky tweet of his own. He wrote: "Awesome day today," with a smiling emoji, quote tweeting the announcement.
LIV Golf is expected to pump billions into the new organisation, which will be co-owned between the Saudi PIF, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
In making the announcement, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed the new organisation would start after the end of the current golf season and would incorporate LIV Golf's team model.
He said: “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love. This transformational partnership recognises the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV – including the team golf concept – to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans.
"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.
“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights. This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better.”
The deal will also allow LIV Golf players to re-apply for PGA Tour membership after the end of the 2023 season, after a number of players either withdrew their membership or were booted out.
