Merger Day ⛳️

06/07/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

PGA Tour, LIV Golf & DP World Tour Announce Merger to ‘Unify’ Game of Golf

The band is back together, but they won’t be getting along anytime soon. Love it or hate it, golf has a solution to the two-year feud between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf. That solution is messy, complicated, and a bit confusing. Can we make sense of it all? No. But we’ll try…

After LIV Golf emerged out of nowhere more than 18 months ago and essentially tried to buy golf’s biggest names for a team-style, international format, chaos ensued. The two leagues hammered each other with antitrust lawsuits as a blistering split turned to a war for the rights of golf. After all the fake pleasantries with hatred boiling under the surface, concluding with Brooks Koepka (LIV) winning the PGA Championship (ironic), the leagues agreed to merge on Tuesday. The merger has some golf fans excited to see the two sides come together and put the noise in the past, but the majority aren’t buying it. How do the players feel? Umm… a little peeved. Let’s unpack.

What The Merger Means

Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf signed an agreement that would combine commercial rights into a new company. That company — or “league” — has yet to be named. The agreement also includes the DP World Tour (European Tour). It essentially “unifies the game of golf,” but does it? The sentiment that each league would be better off together is one many fans can get behind — as we should all apply to our daily lives, not just sports — but it’s not that simple. A merger doesn’t change the memory of the past two years when LIV poached dozens of the PGA’s top players for ludicrous salaries in an attempt to buy the game. They made villains of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and more. Nor does it soften the criticisms over the league funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Things Are Awkward

Koepka’s win at the PGA Championship in May made everything tenser as PGA officials posed for pictures and handed over the Wannamaker Trophy to one of the biggest names who left for LIV. Now, all of those LIV golfers who defected from the PGA Tour and made enemies will be right back alongside each other in the near future. And the Saudi-backed LIV group — with all their sponsors and new rules that challenge golf purists — are seemingly now part of the new era of the PGA. Many of the top LIV players raked in a huge sum of cash to join the venture, only to keep it and return to the league they spurned. PGA commissioner Jay Monahan claimed that wouldn’t happen just a few months ago. It did anyway.

Top LIV Signing Bonuses

Brooks Koepka: $100 Million

Bryson DeChambeau: $125 Million

Dustin Johnson: $150 Million

Phil Mickelson: $200 Million

*LIV Offered Tiger Woods Over $700 Million

Player Reactions & PGA Meeting

As expected, PGA players feel slighted while LIV golfers just bankrolled, sent their message of displeasure to the PGA Tour, and still get to compete in every major under the umbrella of a new league. Commissioner Monahan spoke to the players on Tuesday afternoon in a closed meeting before this weekend’s RBC Heritage Open. Reports from the meeting included phrases like “s—show” and “comedy special” while one report claimed it was a 90/10 split between negative and positive reactions, respectively — 90 percent negative. Players even applauded when someone called for new leadership. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter.

“I love finding out morning news on Twitter” — Collin Morikawa

“Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.” — Mackenzie Hughes

“I’ve grown up being a fan of the 4 Aces. Maybe one day I get to play for them on the PGA Tour!” — (Sarcastic) Joel Dahmen

“Awesome day today “ — Phil Mickelson

What Happens Next?

There’s still much to be revealed. What does the new unified league look like? How will it operate? How will PGA players who stood firm against LIV suddenly welcome their new league sponsors and biggest partners. One thing we do know is golf just got even more edgy…

The golf wars may have come to a ceasefire, but you can’t expect the soldiers to suddenly hold hands.

SI: In One Stunning & Silent Move, Jay Monahan Brings In Billions & Kills LIV Golf

USA Today: PGA Tour Sold Out to LIV Golf & The Saudis. Pro Golf Will Never be the Same

Photo: Chris Trotman / Getty Images