BY STEVE HARMON
The PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, united in bitter opposition against upstart LIV Golf on the course and in the courtroom for the past year, announced a stunning détente with the rival tour Tuesday that unites the three most prominent men’s professional golf tours.
With the agreement, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV Golf, and the U.S. and European tours will combine their commercial businesses and rights into a new collectively owned, for-profit entity. According to a news release jointly issued by the tours, PIF will make a capital investment into the new entity. Significantly, the agreement ends all litigation.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who oversees a Saudi sovereign wealth fund reportedly worth $650 billion, joined PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Tuesday morning in New York on the set of business-news channel CNBC to announce the deal.
“The game of golf is better for what we’ve done today."
Jay Monahan
Monahan called it “a historic day for the game,” adding in a statement that the PGA Tour will be “in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience.”
Said Al-Rumayyan: “This partnership represents the best opportunity to extend and increase the impact of golf for all.”
Keith Pelley, the CEO of the DP World Tour, added: “Together we will be stronger than ever and well-positioned to continue to bring the game to all corners of the globe.”
Critics of LIV Golf have called out Saudi Arabia, with its abhorrent human-rights record and ties to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, for attempts at “sportswashing” its reputation through its investment in golf and other sports and entertainment properties. In a tweet, the 9/11 Families United organization blasted the tour and Monahan as “paid Saudi shills” for the deal.
It was a stunning development that seemingly ends a rancor-filled era in professional golf.
Foremost among the details:
● All pending litigation will end;
● PIF will make a capital investment into the new entity, which has not been named;
● The three tours agreed to establish a fair and objective process to allow players to re-apply for membership after the 2023 season;
● A cohesive schedule will be coordinated by the new entity;
● The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf will retain oversight of their respective tournaments;
● The PGA and DP World tours will work with the PIF to feature team golf;
● The new entity’s Board of Directors will oversee golf-related commercial operations;
● The PIF will be the exclusive investor in the new entity, alongside the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf, with certain future rights;
● The PGA Tour will appoint a majority of the board and hold majority voting interest;
● The PGA Tour will retain its 501(c)(6) tax-exempt status, with Monahan remaining as commissioner and Ed Herlihy as Policy Board chairman, with Al-Rumayyan being granted a board seat;
● Greg Norman, LIV Golf’s CEO, was not mentioned in the news release and has been unusually quiet on social media recently. Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig reported that Norman likely will not be involved in the merged interest.
Final terms of the agreement are still being negotiated, though Al-Rumayyan told CNBC’s David Faber that he expects it to be completed “in a matter of weeks.”
LIV Golf launched in June 2022 by luring some of the game’s biggest names – major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson among them – to a 54-hole, no-cut, shotgun-start format played with lots of loud music but no world-ranking points. “Golf, but louder,” LIV claimed.
The PGA Tour indefinitely suspended its members who signed with LIV Golf and this year created a series of “designated” events worth $20 million-plus to counteract LIV Golf’s $25 million purses. The DP World Tour tried to discipline its members who strayed, as well, but found itself in arbitration, which it eventually won.
Unable to break through among the established world order in men’s pro golf, LIV filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, alleging restraint of trade. The PGA Tour countersued, alleging that LIV was stifling competition. The ensuing months have been marked by legal skirmishes involving discovery, with plenty of sniping among players from opposite camps.
LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship last month during one of the rare weeks when the game’s top players were all gathered together, further tweaking the established tours.
Tuesday’s agreement starts a new chapter that caught everybody outside of the small circle of decision-makers – even the players at this week’s RBC Canadian Open, who were notified of the deal Tuesday morning via a PGA Tour email – by surprise. Many of the players learned the news via social media.
“The game of golf is better for what we’ve done today,” Monahan said on CNBC.
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Top: PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan arrives for a contentious meeting with players in Canada.
mike wolfe, pga tour via getty images