PGA Tour and LIV Golf Merge Commercial Operations, Unify the Sport
In a stunning move after a year of acrimony, the PGA Tour announced Tuesday that it has entered in an agreement with the DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF)—the financial backer of the LIV Golf League—“to unify the game of golf, on a global basis.”
The new entity, still to be named, will end all litigation between the parties.
The LIV Golf League, as an invitational series, launched this week a year ago in London after more than a year of rumblings about a rival golf league.
PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the policy board of the PGA Tour, which will retain its tax-exempt organization status, separately from a new entity that is being established to incorporate LIV Golf, including the team aspect.
There was no mention of golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman, LIV Golf’s CEO and commissioner, although one source told Sports Illustrated that it appears he will not be part of any new venture.
All of this apparently came together without the knowledge of many involved. Golf Channel reported that Tiger Woods didn't know about the deal.
“No idea. All news to me,” said Lee Westwood, a longtime European Tour star who went to LIV Golf last year.
“My phone blew up,” said Pat Perez, another LIV player. “I’m on the West Coast. I happen to be on the Peloton and everyone started calling at once.”
What it all means and how it will work is still to be determined, but PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a memo to players that there would be a way back—to be determined—for LIV players to compete on the PGA Tour; that the LIV schedule for 2023 would remain intact; and that the team concept would be adopted in some form, but suggested it would be studied and it was unclear if this existing structure would remain.
Monahan called it a “momentous day for your organization and the game of golf as a whole.’’ But several players contacted by Sports Illustrated were unclear about the entire scenario.
“Well, today’s news is not surprising,” said PGA Tour player Dylan Frittelli. “It did come a whole earlier than I expected though. The ramifications of the announcement will surely run years into the future of the game. While it remains clear, the vast majority of the PGA Tour players have zero impact on the running of ‘their organization,’ sadly. I think nobody will get all the answers as to why this decision was made, especially at this time. It would be naive to think that it was only a proactive decision to benefit the game of golf.”
Said Sahith Theegala: “Just craziness. I mean, I’m sure there’s a reason for it, but it’s not going to be a good enough reason for the utter lack of communication. I mean how are top-10 players in the world finding out on Twitter. But I’m biting my tongue until there’s more stuff we hear. No way players are going to be O.K. with this.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan had previously rebuffed opportunities to speak to Norman or PIF members to come to some sort of understanding.
LIV launched a year ago with huge bonuses being paid to past major champions Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio García and others. Later, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka joined LIV. British Open champion Cam Smith signed on after the Tour Championship.
In addition to guaranteed up-front money, players have been competing for $20 million individual purses, including $4 million to the winner. Another $5 million is paid out to the top three teams each week.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said Monahan in a letter to players. “This transformational partnership recognizes 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 move is shocking given Monahan’s long-stated stance that he would not talk to LIV Golf or PIF representatives. The Tour had also been robust in pointing out the flaws of the Saudi-backed league and its funding and the human rights abuses of the country.
The discussions apparently took place covertly, as most of those involved with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were unaware anything was coming together.
An antitrust lawsuit will now cease and it is unclear how this merger will play out.
“This is super positive for the world of golf,” said 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, who joined LIV Golf last year but said he was unaware the announcement was coming.
“Nobody within LIV even wanted the level of division, the divisiveness that has been created. None of us wanted that. We love the game. Obviously we knew the decisions we made would come with consequences. Those were decisions we had to weigh and make sure the business decision was right from what we were going to turn our back on and gain from an opportunity. We didn’t want to create the fracture in the sport. But I suppose we knew it would happen to a certain level, never did we imagine the level of negativity that came. But to see the world of golf coming back together is obviously very, very pleasing.”
In the past, players such as Woods and Rory McIlroy suggested no talks could take place unless Norman was no longer involved with LIV Golf. The two-time major champion had some 30 years ago attempted to start a rival tour that was thwarted by then PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.
This time, he was brought in to help launch the league and had the financial backing of the PIF, which is said to be worth more than $625 billion. Norman’s future is now clearly in doubt.
“Norman has not been involved lately in any decision-making,” said one source who wished not to be identified. “I would say he’s exiting for sure. He’s been very low key at the events lately and mostly meeting and greeting. I got the feeling he was on his way out.”
LIV Golf played eight invitational tournaments last year, with Dustin Johnson winning the individual title and his team, the 4Aces capturing the team title.
The franchise model and selling the 12 teams to investors has been part of the business model.
LIV has played seven of its 14 events this year with the next one scheduled for Spain starting June 30, with another event a week later in London.
“Today is a very exciting day for this special game and the people it touches around the world,” Al-Rumayyan said in a statement. “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. We are committed to unifying, promoting and growing the game of golf around the world and offering the highest-quality product to the many millions of longtime fans globally while cultivating new fans.”
According to the PGA Tour’s release, the board of directors of what will form a new entity will include Al-Rumayyan as chairman and Monahan as CEO. The new entity’s board will also include an executive committee comprising Al-Rumayyan, Monahan, Ed Herlihy and PGA Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne.