A shockwave was sent through the sports world when it was announced that two of golf's biggest archrivals, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, will merge. The unifier marks a complete turnaround for the PGA, which had previously sworn off business transactions with LIV.
What are the details?
The PGA Tour organizes professional American golf tours, while LIV Golf is a Saudi-backed pro golf tour. The two groups announced the "creation of a new entity that would combine their assets, as well as those of the DP World Tour, and radically change golf's governance," The New York Times reported.
While the details are still being worked out, the Saudis "will be the leading investor in the yet-to-be-named new entity, and it also will become a premier corporate sponsor of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and other international tours," according to ESPN. The merger seemed to come as a major surprise to almost everyone involved. "No one saw it coming — not even the PGA Tour's biggest stars, who were kept in the dark," ESPN stated.
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Why is the merger controversial?
Anger over the deal was palpable given that LIV Golf is funded by Saudi Arabia, a country that allegedly violates human rights on a widespread scale. LIV is financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the country's $600 billion sovereign wealth fund. The Saudis have been accused of using LIV as a vessel for sports-washing, described by Sports Illustrated as "the use of sports to present a sanitized, friendlier version of a political regime or operation."
The deal marks a complete reversal of course for the PGA Tour, which has seen LIV Golf as its main competitor since its founding in 2021 and has often criticized Saudi Arabia for its role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan, "who for two years has been railing against everything LIV stands for," Golf.com noted, called the deal a "transformational partnership [that] recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour's history, legacy and pro-competitive model."
Despite Monahan's optimism, the partnership was panned by people both inside and outside the sport due to LIV's association with the Saudis. When Monahan met with some of the PGA's top players after the announcement, it was "intense" and "heated," Yahoo Sports reported. One player even called Monahan a hypocrite to his face, something he reportedly acquiesced to.
The PGA's willingness to accept total Saudi funding for the new entity also caused anger. The PGA had previously "convinced many of its players that taking Saudi money from LIV Golf was immoral," sports investor Joe Pompliano tweeted. "But now the PGA Tour is merging with LIV, creating a new entity with Saudi's sovereign wealth fund as the only outside investor. The players that turned down the money must be pissed."
What made the PGA change its tune?
Questions abound over the true reasoning, but most insiders pointed to the financial boost the organization would get. "Money wins," Golf.com multimedia editor Jess Marksbury wrote, calling the merger "a slap in the face like no other to the tour loyalists." The site's equipment editor, Ryan Barath, similarly felt the move was motivated by dollars. The merger "felt like the conclusion of the golf world's 'Succession' … money comes out on top, and everyone has a price," Barath wrote.
"This is Saudi Arabia buying the PGA tour," sports commentator Rich Eisen said, per CNBC. He was joined in this assessment by USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, who told CNN the PGA "wimped out" and took Saudi "blood money" in the pursuit of profit.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also pointed to money ruling all, tweeting that "PGA officials were in my office just months ago talking about how the Saudis' human rights record should disqualify them from having a stake in a major American sport. I guess maybe their concerns weren't really about human rights?"
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