PGA Tour and European tour agree to merge with Saudis and end LIV Golf feud

The PGA Tour and the European Tour have reached a surprising agreement to merge with Saudi Arabia’s golf venture, effectively ending the feud with LIV Golf. In a groundbreaking announcement on Tuesday, the two tours joined forces with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to establish a new commercial operation.

As part of the merger, all lawsuits involving LIV Golf have been dropped immediately. However, there are still unresolved issues concerning players like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, who defected last year for lucrative signing bonuses rumored to be around $150 million.

On the commercial side, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund will join the PGA Tour’s board of directors and serve as the chairman of the new business venture. Despite this, the PGA Tour will maintain a majority stake.

The sudden turn of events has left many players bewildered, especially since the news broke on social media before PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan had a chance to inform them formally. Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa expressed his surprise at finding out important news through Twitter.

Unsurprisingly, not all players are happy with the merger. Wesley Bryan tweeted his feeling of betrayal, stating that he won’t be able to trust anyone within the corporate structure of the PGA Tour for a long time. Byeong Hun An speculated on Twitter that the LIV teams might have struggled to secure sponsors, leading the PGA Tour to accept the financial benefits. He described it as a win-win situation for both tours but a significant loss for those who defended the PGA Tour over the past two years.

The announcement comes a year after the establishment of LIV Golf. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who was present at the Canadian Open during that time, had openly questioned any player considering joining LIV, asking if they had ever felt the need to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour.

Now, the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia have become partners, granting the kingdom a commercial voice within golf’s premier organization. Monahan acknowledged the criticism and explained that the decision was made based on the information available at the time, emphasizing the need for the conversation that took place.

The deal was in the works for the past seven weeks, with Monahan meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF. Despite typically involving players in approving changes, they were left out of the decision-making process this time. Monahan stated that the players expect the PGA Tour to act in their best interests, and guidance from corporate members of the PGA Tour board influenced the decision.

Monahan acknowledged that his toughest challenge lies ahead, as he sought loyalty from players despite the accusations of sportswashing against the Saudi league. This term refers to Saudi Arabia’s attempt to divert attention from its human rights abuses, such as the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The very group that posed a threat to the PGA Tour is now its commercial partner.

The PGA Tour players have also enjoyed financial gains throughout this process, as prize money for elite events increased to $20 million, matching the purse for LIV’s individual competition. The 2024 schedule has been restructured to include approximately 16 tournaments with similar prize money.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the PGA Tour’s board, and the PIF will invest in the commercial venture. Al-Rumayyan emphasized that the initiative’s primary goal was to grow the game of golf, and he believes that the merger has accomplished precisely that.

Further details about Greg Norman’s role, who serves as LIV Golf’s commissioner, will be announced in the upcoming weeks. Monahan’s memo to players indicated a significant Saudi Arabian presence, as the PIF will become a premier corporate sponsor for the PGA Tour, the European Tour, and other international tours.

The merger was facilitated by Jimmy Dunne, a PGA Tour board member, who brought Monahan and Al-Rumayyan together. Dunne and Ed Herlihy, the chairman of the PGA Tour’s board, will serve on the board of the new commercial venture.

Last August, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and nine other players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. LIV Golf joined as plaintiffs, and the PGA Tour responded with a countersuit.

The concern for the PIF was the potential deposition of its leaders, which Saudi Arabia wanted to avoid. The PIF appealed a federal judge’s ruling that denied them immunity from the Foreign Service Immunity Act due to their commercial involvement with LIV Golf in the U.S. This appeal, likely to be heard by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, would have prolonged the lawsuit until at least 2024.

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More about PGA Tour and European tour merge with Saudis

• PGA Tour Official Website
• European Tour Official Website
• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) Official Website
• LIV Golf Official Website