Opinion: LIV Gets Their Cake And Eats It Too
The PGA Tour can attempt to spin it any which way they’d like, but they’ve officially been defeated by the Saudi backed LIV Golf series.
In a shocking announcement Tuesday, the PGA Tour revealed that they, alongside the DP World Tour, would be merging with LIV to form a larger commercial business. The revelation comes on the heels of a bitter legal battle between the entities which has raged on for over a year.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan posted the following statement on the PGA website earlier today: “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love…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.”
“Today is a very exciting day for this special game and the people it touches around the world,” said PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. “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 long-time fans globally, while cultivating new fans.
“There is no question that the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf. We believe there are opportunities for the game to evolve while also maintaining its storied history and tradition. This partnership represents the best opportunity to extend and increase the impact of golf for all. We look forward to collaborating with Jay and Keith to bring the best version of the game to communities around the world.”
As part of the merger, both parties have agreed to drop all pending litigation between the groups, with the goal of officially launching the new venture after the conclusion of the 2023 season.
A new board of directors will oversee the new entity, with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, acting as chairman of the new group. Commissioner Jay Monahan will act as CEO and the PGA Tour will maintain a majority stake in the new venture.
Under the new arrangement, the PGA Tour will continue to operate as a 501(c)(6) tax exempt organization, and will retain oversight of sanctioning, and rules regarding all competitions.
However, according to multiple reports, news of the merger was not divulged to players on the PGA Tour, resulting in numerous golfers finding out via social media this morning.
To say this is a horrendous look for the PGA Tour is the understatement of the year. Virtually every executive and stakeholder has spent the better part of the last 365 days putting down the LIV Golf Series, and accusing the Saudi backed organization of “sport washing” at every turn.
For them to then have a complete about face, without having consulted the players, many of which turned down lucrative offers to join the rival startup, is nothing short of laughable. A sentiment which was shared widely on social media following news of the merger.
Monahan, who makes out like a bandit in all of this, earning himself a promotion, and thus theoretically a hefty pay raise, could go down as one of the most hypocritical commissioners in all sport.
According to the Sports Business Journal, LIV CEO Greg Norman reportedly sent Monahan a letter at the start of the year, asking for cooperation between the two groups. A notion which Monahan was alleged to have retorted that he “doesn’t want that at all.”
However with reports that the Saudi Backed venture has already poured upwards of $2B into the LIV Golf Series, it would appear as though money talks in this regard once again.
What will be interesting to see in the coming days, will be the reaction of Rory McIlroy. McIlroy has been one of the most outspoken critics of LIV since its inception. A stance which Monahan has been all too happy to support.
When the 34 year old held a players meeting to speak about the LIV threat, the commissioner remarked “The thing that’s been so impressive about what he’s done and having seen where we were coming out of Delaware last year to where we are now, his leadership has manifested itself in a way where he has a very good grasp on and balance on the full picture and on the entire membership, and where we were last summer to where we are now is largely a reflection on the amount of time and energy he’s put into understanding that.”
For several players to come out and voice their displeasure with the new merger, and comment about how they were blindsided by the announcement, one has to assume that Rory can’t be overly pleased with how things have played out.
Simply put, if you’re an LIV Golfer you’re laughing your way to the bank today. Not only were you able to set your family up with generational wealth with your deal, but you’ll now be welcomed back into the fold in 2024.
For those who toed the company line and chose to stick it out with the PGA Tour, you’re probably running along a spectrum of emotions from “livid” to “betrayed” this morning. And rightfully so.
After turning down figures that would have taken decades of top 5 finishes to accumulate, you’re now left to wonder what benefits you’ll reap from displaying loyalty in the face of adversity for the better part of 2 years.
This is a major coup for LIV and their Saudi backers. And a significant loss for the PGA Tour. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise isn’t looking at the scoreboard.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: JazzyJoeyD. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.