The winners and losers in the agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf will be identified in the short run, and history will weigh in longer term.
However, at the 30,000-foot level, the stunning announcement Tuesday of a deal is a clear win for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, short- and long-term.
The big immediate win for Saudis is the cessation of legal hostilities. How important was this in the agreement? It was highlighted near the very top of the official communique about the deal.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV Golf and the federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, wanted nothing to do with the U.S. jurisprudence system. To do so was to risk precedents that could affect the numerous other investments the kingdom has made in America. At the end of the day, transparency is not something of which the Saudis are fond. Being forced to disclose texts or other written communication through the discovery process was simply too big of a risk.
With this merger, Saudi Arabia has become a major player in global golf virtually overnight, just as it has in soccer.
By all accounts, the PIF was struggling with its legal case in U.S. District Court in Northern California. It went through four different sets of legal teams, and Judge Beth Labson Freeman seemed skeptical of PIF’s theory of the case from the very start of the legal proceedings. PIF had lost several times on the issue of sovereign immunity, and the Saudis decided to cut their losses rather than risk an adverse ruling in the appeals court, or even the Supreme Court.
Longer term, this fits like a glove in with the ambitions of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, more commonly known as MBS, the crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia. MBS has laid down Saudi Vision 2030 with the aim of modernizing the state. Saudi Vision 2030 calls for a more vibrant society and a thriving economy less dependent on oil.
Sport is a key pillar in this effort, and the kingdom has used its deep pockets to move aggressively to become a global player in athletics. The PIF owns England-based Newcastle United Football Club, a Premier League fútbol team, and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo plays for a Saudi Arabian team. The kingdom hosts the annual Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, is seeking to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, and has hosted World Wrestling Entertainment events as well as boxing matches and tennis tournaments.
The creation of LIV, coming after failed efforts to meet with the PGA Tour in 2021, was designed to place golf prominently in the mix in Saudi Arabia. With this merger, Saudi Arabia has become a major player in global golf virtually overnight, just as it has in soccer.
There is just one thing left to do to bring the global game together under one umbrella organization: incorporate the women’s game. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan signaled as much with what was almost a throwaway comment on the CNBC announcement. Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned petroleum and natural gas company, is invested in the Ladies European Tour. It likely is only a matter of time before the LPGA joins the new entity. Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan seemed to acknowledge as much when she observed “a fractured ecosystem is not good for the game, and we look forward to learning what today’s announcement means.”
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Top: Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud
Hasan Bratic, getty images