PGA Tour, LIV Golf merger: Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, others react to big news
The PGA Tour set to merge with Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament in a deal that will change the future of professional golf as the two biggest forces in the sport become one large entity. The new, unnamed for-profit company will also include the DP World Tour, also known as the European Tour as part of the merger.
According to a PGA Tour press release, the new organization “will work to ensure a cohesive schedule of events that will excite fans, sponsors and all stakeholders.”
LIV Golf is backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, a financial enterprise controlled by the Saudi government that has been involved in antitrust lawsuits with the PGA Tour in the past calendar year. As a result of this new merger, all such pending litigation will cease.
The Public Investment Fund will invest billions of dollars in new capital into this new entity, according to CNBC’s David Faber. Specific terms of the merger have not yet been announced.
In the wake of this game-changing news, some of the world’s top golfers from both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, as well as other sports personalities, weighed in on the news via Twitter.
Koepka – who recently became the first LIV golfer to win a major title at the 2023 PGA Championship – is referring to Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee, who has been outspoken in his thoughts on LIV Golf’s connection to the Golf Channel. government of Saudi Arabia. He recently tweeted that LIV Golf “is not a sports organization because MBS/Saudi Arabia are trying to hide their heinous behavior and clean up its reputation by buying sports stars.”
