This morning, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have made the decision to merge commercial operations under common ownership with LIV Golf. Later today a meeting is scheduled for the PGA Tour players to sit down and hear from PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan.
This announcement has shocked golf fans around the world. Jay Monahan, who has openly criticized LIV Golf in the past has changed his mind. Monahan has struck a deal behind the scenes with LIV Golf and is reported to be leading the charge for the merger.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has invested around $1 billion since the birth of the LIV Golf Tour. According to Bloomberg, PIF has over $600 billion in assets. These figures seem to have been large enough to make Monahan go back on his word.
Upon the formation of this new for-profit entity, Jay Monahan will become its first CEO. The current governor of PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan will become the new organization’s chairman.
Many players took to Twitter to react to the news.
Tiger Woods, among others, said that he was not informed of this decision until this morning.
This is what we know so far
- The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF (LIV Golf) are going to combine commercial operations.
- The mission of this new organization is “to unify the game of golf, on a global basis”.
- This organization will take on a new name, which is still TBD.
- PIF is going to make an initial capital investment to facilitate the growth of this new organization.
- The PGA Tour is going to remain a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt organization.
- The participating parties have all agreed to end any pending litigation.
Despite all of the chaos, the PGA Tour events are still going on as scheduled. The Canadian Open will begin on Thursday, June 7. The U.S. Open will begin on June 15.
Stay tuned for more PGA content including tournament previews, recaps and any breaking news!
Featured image courtesy of PGA Tour
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