In a joint press release, the PGA Tour, European Tour and LIV Golf announced they have merged their commercial operations. The landmark agreement ends all litigation between the parties. The three bodies will form a new collectively owned, for-profit entity. The name of the newly merged entity and the exact structure of the various tours will be announced at a later date.
Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner, said…“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.”
Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan added…"Today is a very exciting day for this special game and the people it touches around the world. We are proud to partner with the PGA Tour to leverage PIF's unparalleled success and track record of unlocking value and bringing innovation and global best practices to business and sectors worldwide."
LIV Chief Executive Greg Norman was not mentioned in the statements.
The deal confirms the organisations will function together allowing LIV Golf players to reapply for PGA Tour and European Tour membership.
The bombshell announcement has caught golfers who remained loyal to the PGA Tour by surprise. Many were unaware of what was coming and have expressed their concerns on social media.
Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa wrote, “I love finding out morning news on Twitter.”
Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes wrote, “Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.”
Todd Lewis, who is a PGA Tour insider messaged on his Twitter account…”Spoke with several @PGATOUR players who were a part of a meeting in Delaware that ultimately reshaped the Tour schedule. Most of those players were offered @livgolf_league money but turned it down to be loyal to the Tour. Those players told me they feel betrayed and manipulated.”
However, not all the comments on social media expressed concern. Six-time major champion and prominent LIV Golf supporter Phil Mickelson tweeted…“Awesome day today.” The comment was above a link to a news story on the merger.
The immediate player comments suggest the Tours hierarchy still have plenty of work ahead of them if they are going to successfully bring a close to the game’s bitter two-year conflict.
Watch this space!
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