Cal Sports Report

Ex-Cal Golfers Respond to Stunning PGA-LIV Unity Announcement

Byeong Hun An, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa are among the ex-Golden Bears who reacted on social media
Jake Curtis|
Ex-Cal Golfers Respond to Stunning PGA-LIV Unity Announcement
Ex-Cal Golfers Respond to Stunning PGA-LIV Unity Announcement

Former Cal golfers responded on social media to Tuesday’s stunning announcement that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf League have reached an agreement to unify the three groups into one commercial business.

The three golf bodies have been involved in tense legal battles, and players in both the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf League have been publicly critical of members of the other bodies.

This agreement ends all pending litigation among the parties, and it will allow golfers to reapply for membership with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season.

The deal reached between the two tours and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was finalized without the knowledge of many PGA Tour members and LIV Golf players and agents.

PGA Tour golfer Byeong Hun An, who played his one year of collegiate golf at Cal, noted the apparent advantages for both the PGA Tour and LIV League, but also noted that it seems like a slap in the face to the many PGA Tour golfers who turned down the big money offered by LIV and publicly defended the PGA Tour.

Former Cal golfer Collin Morikawa, a winner of two majors, seemed disappointed the PGA Tour players were left out of the loop in the discussions. Apparently PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan planned to have a Tuesday 1 p.m. Pacific time meeting with the players.

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James Hahn, another former Cal golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, did not say anything directly on his twitter account regarding the news, but he did retweet this:

Max Homa, who was an NCAA individual champion while at Cal and is now No. 7 in the world golf rankings, had his own take on the issue, referring to Cleeks GC, one of the 12 LIV Golf teams:

It's not entirely clear how this unification will play out in practical terms, but here is the information as we know it.

"There's been a lot of tension in our sport over the last couple years," PGA Tour Monahan told CNBC on Tuesday. "What we're talking about today is coming together to unify the game of golf, and to do so under one umbrella. . . We've recognized that together, we can have a far greater impact on this game than we can working apart. ... The game of golf is better for what we've done here today."

In a statement, the circuits said the parties have signed an agreement that "combines PIF's golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour into a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game's best players."

The three tours said they will work "cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to reapply for membership with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season."

Monahan said in a statement the agreement will “create an organization that will benefit golf's players, commercial and charitable partners and fans."

Cover photo of Max Homa and Collin Morikawa by Andrew Wevers, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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