PGA Tour announces shock reconciliation with Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf
By Jack Bantock and Steve Almasy, CNN
(CNN) — The US-based PGA Tour is set to partner with the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf, ending a feud that has dogged the men’s professional game for the past year.
The PGA Tour made the shock announcement on Tuesday, saying a new partnership with LIV and the DP World Tour would “unify the game of golf.”
“The parties have signed an agreement that combines PIF’s 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,” the statement read.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, speaking after what he described as a heated meeting with golfers, told reporters at the Canadian Open in Toronto that the Tour and LIV Golf were “better off together than we were fighting or apart.”
When asked what changed his position on the PGA Tour accepting the money from Saudi Arabia, Monahan said, “I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite. Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that’s trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players.”
A spokesperson for the PGA Tour told CNN that the new relationship between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour (formerly known as the European Tour) and LIV Golf is not a merger, but “a partnership/creation of a new commercial entity.”
Throughout the interview, the commissioner repeatedly referred to the new relationship as a framework agreement that resulted from seven weeks of talks.
“A great day in global golf for players and fans alike. The journey continues!!” LIV Golf CEO and two-time major winner Greg Norman tweeted.
The LIV Golf series, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), officially launched in June 2022, with participating players subsequently barred from competing in PGA Tour events. The PIF is a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, known by his initials MBS.
Bin Salman is the man a US intelligence report names as responsible for approving the operation that led to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi’s killing.
According to the US State Department, the Kingdom’s dismal human rights record includes free speech restrictions, torture, political prisoners and enforced disappearances.
Officials at the daily White House news conference said they had no comment on the news.
9/11 families and survivors groups ‘deeply offended’ by merger
Groups representing families and survivors of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were outraged by the developments.
The allegations of Saudi government complicity with the attacks have long been the subject of dispute in Washington. Fifteen of the 19 al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked four planes were Saudi nationals, but the Saudi government has denied any involvement in the attacks. The 9/11 Commission established by Congress said in 2004 that it had found “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” al Qaeda.
“9/11 Families United is shocked and deeply offended by the newly announced merger between the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf league that is bankrolled by billions of sportswashing money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi operatives played a role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and now it is bankrolling all of professional golf,” a statement from the group reads.
Brett Eagleson, the president of the 9/11 Justice group, says a number of victims’ families are shocked at the announcement as the news “came out of left field,” leaving families “gut wrenched.”
All pending legal disputes ended
After the LIV Golf Invitational Series was announced last year, several star golfers left the PGA Tour for the super-rich contracts of LIV.
The two rival tours have since been involved in a series of legal disputes, with all pending litigation mutually ended under the new agreement.
“What we’ve agreed to here is a framework agreement, and the binding elements are tied to the litigation,” Monahan told reporters. “A lot of these details we’ve got to work through.”
In a statement that accompanied the announcement, Monahan praised PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, saying his “vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach” was not only a solution to the rift within the sport, but a “commitment to taking it to new heights.”
In the same statement, Al-Rumayyan said it was an “exciting day,” for golf and the sport’s 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,” he said.
Al-Rumayyan told CNBC he expected the partnership to be finalized “in a matter of weeks” and was set to serve as the chairman of the new entity’s Board of Directors.
Players react
The emergence of the LIV Golf, offering huge prize money and guaranteed earnings across substantially fewer events than the PGA Tour, led to distinct fractures within the sport.
PIF pledged to award $250 million in total prize money for the tour’s inaugural season. Of the $25 million offered at each of the first seven events, $20 million was a guaranteed split between players.
The PGA Tour responded earlier this year by announcing a revamped schedule for 2024, with “designated events” offering increased prize purses, smaller fields, and no cuts.
The antagonism was embodied by one of its biggest stars, Rory McIlroy, who became the de-facto spokesperson for the PGA Tour and an outspoken critic of the breakaway series. In August 2022, the four-time major winner told CNN that LIV Golf had “ripped apart” the men’s game.
Tiger Woods was also critical, arguing in July 2022 that players who joined LIV Golf had “turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”
The commissioner said he tried to explain the benefits of the agreement to the golfers at the Canadian Open.
“Obviously it’s been a very dynamic and complex couple of years, and for players, I’m not surprised that – this is an awful lot to ask them to digest, and this is a significant change for us in the direction that we were going down,” he said.
The PGA Tour will have a position of control, he said, and the PIF partnership will be “constructive and productive.”
Phil Mickelson, one of the earliest to join LIV Golf, became one of the new tour’s most vocal defenders after facing heavy criticism for joining.
Responding to the announcement, Mickelson said on Twitter: “Awesome day today.”
Former President Donald Trump, whose courses have hosted several LIV Golf events, welcomed the news.
“Great news from LIV Golf,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. “A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. Congrats to all!!!”
Initial social media reaction from players suggested that some were caught unaware.
Collin Morikawa tweeted, “I love finding out morning news on Twitter,” while fellow pro Michael S. Kim said: “Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right?”
‘A momentous day’
In a memo obtained by CNN from a tour spokesperson, Monahan told players the new partnership would require approval from the PGA Tour policy board.
The Tour commissioner said LIV Golf’s 2023 calendar would continue as planned, while a “fair and objective process” would be established for players wanting to re-apply for PGA Tour or DP World Tour membership after the 2023 season.
In a statement, Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the DP World Tour, echoed Monahan’s comments.
“We are delighted to be able to not only reignite our relationship with PIF, but also to have the opportunity to build on our current Strategic Alliance partnership with the PGA Tour,” Pelley said.
“Together we will be stronger than ever and well positioned to continue to bring the game to all corners of the globe. To partner in this new entity and influence the growth of the game for all our DP World Tour members is energizing and exciting.”
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, organizers of The Open Championship, said: “We are pleased that an agreement has been reached which will help men’s professional golf move forward in a collaborative, constructive and innovative fashion.
“We care deeply about golf’s future and are committed to ensuring that the sport continues to thrive for many years to come.
“This agreement represents a huge step toward achieving that goal for golf and we look forward to working with the new entity for the benefit of the sport globally.”
Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred S. Ridley, whose course hosts The Masters, similarly welcomed the news.
“As we have expressed previously, what makes golf special is its rich history and ability to bring people together,” Ridley said in a statement. “We are encouraged by this announcement, which represents a positive development in bringing harmony to men’s professional golf.
“Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament are – and will remain – devoted to developing the game and celebrating its many virtues.”
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CNN’s Homero De la Fuente, David Close and Jill Martin contributed to this report.
