After the mind-blowing news delivered on Tuesday about the PGA Tour/DP World Tour (aka the European Tour)/LIV Tour merger I can only wonder if Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, along with a huge percentage of PGA and DP World Tour members, aren’t just a teeny bit livid?
I am writing this at a time when very little information has been disclosed beyond the fact all parties have signed “a landmark agreement to unify the game of golf, on a global basis”. According to the press release: “The parties have signed an agreement that combines PIF’s (Public Investment Fund) 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.”

Jay Monahan (right) and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, arguably now the most powerful man in world golf, announce their grand plan on CNBC news on Tuesday.
Agreement to end all litigation between the parties is the one positive I can see just now. However, it’s hard not to take a jaundiced view of even this at the moment. LIV Golf is completely financed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia which is chaired by Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), the crown prince, and the man widely believed to have ordered the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. American courts have already ruled on levels of disclosure required in the litigation, not bowing to the demands from LIV Golf for “sovereign immunity”. That ruling did not bode well for the Saudis if things were to proceed to court. And, if Phil Mickelson is to be believed, the PGA Tour also has its own share of “dirty secrets” which it would prefer to keep just that – secret.
So, over the last seven weeks a series of meetings has been taking place between Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA Tour, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, overseer of the PIF (picture at top) and Tuesday’s announcement of the merger is the result. The majority of players only found out minutes before the rest of the golf world and, like the rest of us, have now been informed as to the framework of the deal but very little else. Not that the new best friends don’t have lofty goals. According to Monahan they “are coming together to unify the game of golf”.
What an unholy mess! This new entity, which, at the time of writing, has yet to be given a name, will be wholly funded by PIF and has as a starting point the mutual aim of two of the protagonists wishing to avoid certain disclosures required by the courts. That’s some foundation for a sport that hitherto has been smugly superior about its inherent integrity. Al-Rumayyan, a golf nut who is also chairman of Newcastle United FC, will be chairman of the new company (no name yet) and Monahan will be the CEO.
Rory McIlroy, staunch supporter of and tireless worker for the PGA Tour admitted that at this point it was hard not to feel like “a sacrificial lamb”. However, acknowledging the futility of battling an opponent with limitless funds, he says he is resigned to the formation of this company. He says the Saudis will continue to pour money into the game and that this way the PGA Tour will be able to control how it is spent.
Really? Forget the labels. He who holds the purse strings always has all the power.

Rory, the “sacrificial lamb” looking visibly strained, answering questions re the merger prior to this week’s RBC Canadian Open. [PGA Tour]
And there you have it. Money trumps all. There’s smoke and mirrors all over the place and I weary of the oft-used phrase “growing the game.” Someone cleverer than me would be able to tell you what percentage of golfers world-wide actually play for a living. It’s a very small percentage indeed, a veritable tip of the iceberg, and the majority of this money will simply go to making already rich people even richer. And if I were a young sixteen year old lad, dreaming of being the next Tiger Woods, I soon will have nowhere on this planet to play professionally that isn’t funded (and therefore controlled) by the Saudis. Not a good idea in my book.

Monahan had a rough ride at the players’ meeting in Canada this week. Perhaps the players will form a new breakaway tour????? [PGA Tour]
This much-heralded merger will likely be of very little benefit to the amateur game – the “real” game that comprises the huge expanse of the rest of the golfing population iceberg. Don’t expect to see a proliferation of six-hole courses or pitch-and-putt venues for children any time soon. There’ll be no blanket roll out of golf lessons in schools, no hefty financial input into promoting better health through golf or working on inclusivity and divergence.
So far other governing bodies in world golf have cautiously sounded a note of welcome to the proposed merger. They will no doubt wait and see what transpires. However, I can foresee a time in the not-too-distant future when the next rift will be between the new Saudi-financed entity on the one hand and the R&A/USGA/Augusta National Golf Club on the other. The topics? One might well be the potential rolling back of the ball and suggested equipment changes; another the survival of the majors.
After all, if the winner of the Hey Diddle Diddle Open receives twice as much money as a winner of one of the current majors how soon will the lure of those titles and their history continue to have any meaning or pull for the next generation of players?
Of course, I’m being silly. Didn’t Monahan say just the other day, “On behalf of the game we’re coming together.”
So we’ll be fine….won’t we?
Thanks Maureen for such a succinct description of what has happened. Perhaps the women’s game will get the backing from somewhere to create something that the men with more than money in their minds can join. Who knows.
I fear this whole issue will run and run….and not necessarily in a good direction.
Good piece Maureen…however, I strongly suspect this deal won’t happen. Dept of State Anti-trust laws likely to block it ( roughly the same as our Monopolies Commission ). As you say, money wins and the smart money says Monahan won’t last. Wee Rory astonishingly naive if he believes PGA Tour holds the power. He, and others, have just been screwed, sooner or later they’ve got to screw back. We’ll see…X
Hi Maureen, this money go round is undermining the creditability of golf, by throwing vast amounts of cash around the Saudi’s think they can buy the game.
You can’t purchase the history of golf, and the traditions that it stands for.
Long may the women’s pro game remain independent from all this mayhem.
Best wishes from
Enniskillen.
I do wonder where it’ll all end.
So basically the Saudi Public Investment Fund now own world golf?
And you’re right, all this promise “to grow the game” is nothing more than lip service. There’ll be no opportunity for youngsters and in particular from under privileged backgrounds to be introduced to the game. If we’re not careful grassroots golf will wither on the vine.
As for the European tour, well they haven’t even got a place on the board of the new entity. Not looking too promising. So yes, a big unholy mess but one that Monaghan and company can be placated by throwing money at it.
Finally as for the women’s tour,I hope they keep well out of it but I’m not sure they can hold out to the amount of money being pumped in by the Saudi,s