Trump Called It A Year Ago & It Just Happened
After two years of dispute, the PGA Tour, Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Dubai-based DP World have reached a landmark agreement to merge the two golf circuits.
The unification of the PGA Tour-DP World circuit with the PIF’s golf-related businesses, including the LIV golf circuit, is set to create unprecedented global competition between the circuit’s best players.
The agreement comes after an extensive period of legal conflict between the respective golf circuits. In 2020, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan declared any potential truce with the rival Saudi-backed LIV golf circuit "off the table" after the PGA Tour and the European Tour refused to acknowledge the LIV tour.
Unbelievable. @realDonaldTrump predicted the LIV-PGA merger last year:
"All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’… pic.twitter.com/lMzMV6ZlGl
— Tim Meads (@TimMeadsUSA) June 6, 2023
Upon releasing the statement confirming the agreement, Monahan exclaimed, "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."
He further continues, "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."
The unification of the two circuits also marks a trend in which golf’s mega-circuits are moving closer together. In 2019, the European Tour, PGA Tour, and the Japan Tour announced the formation of the World Golf Group.
The new entity was launched in response to growing competition from LIV and the Asian Tour, and today's agreement aligns the circuit-level tours under one roof.
The new agreement will also see the PIF make a 'capital investment' in the jointly owned entity and will free up several players who had opted to compete outside of PGA Tour and European Tour-sanctioned events.
Furthermore, all pending lawsuits between the circuits have now been canceled, ushering in a new period of collaboration between the European and PGA Tours.
Rory McIlroy, the four-time major winner and one of golf's most opinionated voices, had previously expressed his opposition to the emergence of the LIV Golf tour. Speaking about the merger, McIlroy said, "I'm glad that golf fans don't have to choose between tours. I'm optimistic about the potential of this new tour to create genuine global competition between the world's best players, and I'm very excited to see what's in store for the game of golf in the coming months and years."
The PGA and European Tours can now look towards securing golf’s future as one unified entity, driven by a commitment to promote competition among the best professional golfers. Fans can now watch in anticipation as the world's top talent pursue excellence in the newly formed PGA/European/LIV/DP World organization.