There are major upheavals in golf: The PGA Tour and the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) as well as the previously rival Saudi Arabian LIV Tour want to operate under one roof in the future. The three major professional series jointly announced a “groundbreaking” commercial merger agreement on Tuesday. This is intended to standardize golf globally.
PGA boss Jay Monahan spoke of a “historic day for the game we all know and love.” According to the agreement, the newly founded organization should be collectively owned in the future. This is to ensure that “everyone involved benefits from a model that offers maximum excitement and competition among the best golfers,” the statement said.
The Austrian professional golfers Sepp Straka, Matthias Schwab (both PGA), Bernd Wiesberger (LIV) and Lukas Nemecz (World Tour) are among those affected by these far-reaching plans.
Fresh start instead of litigation
The deal ends a legal battle between the two traditional tours and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV, which would have gone to court in California next year. It also marks the end of a conflict that has also occupied the players massively and has caused turmoil in the sport for almost two years, and at the same time marks a new beginning. The LIV Tour had come up with 54-hole tournaments without cuts and prize money for all starters as well as team ratings.
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) – which pumped massive amounts of money into the LIV Series and signed high-paying deals with stars like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson to lure them away from the PGA Tour – will be part of the Agreement to invest in the new company. “Today is a very exciting day for this special game and the people it touches around the world,” said PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
Suspension of LIV players ends at the end of the season
It was also announced that any golfer who had been indefinitely suspended from the PGA Tour or the World Tour for their LIV involvement would be able to return after the 2023 season. We are working on a fair process. US star Mickelson spoke of a “great day” via Twitter. Wiesberger wrote: “Common sense has triumphed!!!”
Still many open questions
However, there are currently no more details or information about how the three tours will line up next to each other. In addition, there is still no name for the new joint organization. According to Monahan, however, this will benefit athletes, partners and golf fans. “This will usher in a new era in global golf – for the better,” said the PGA Commissioner.
