News of a landmark merger of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour has seemingly ended the divide among the rival golf circuits, but the announcement on Tuesday may have created another set of issues after some Tour members suggested they first learned of the partnership on social media.
Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa took to Twitter to express his apparent frustrations in learning on social media that the Tour and its European counterpart had reached a deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to create a new “collectively owned” entity.
Collin Morikawa plays a shot during the first round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, 2023, in Georgia. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“I love finding out morning news on Twitter,” he wrote in a tweet.
PGA TOUR ANNOUNCES LANDMARK MERGER WITH SAUDI-BACKED LIV GOLF
Morikawa was among the PGA Tour members rumored to be leaving for LIV last year, but he quickly shot down the speculation in June 2022, saying he was “here to stay.”
Three-time PGA Tour winner Scott Stallings confirmed Morikawa’s remark, responding in a tweet of his own: “You and me both.”
A letter allegedly sent from the Tour to the players was circulated on social media, but it was unclear if the letter was sent prior to the announcement.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan speaks to the media during a press conference prior to The Players Championship on March 8, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
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On the LIV front, several of its golfers took joy in the announcement.
The 2022 PGA Championship winner, Brooks Koepka, who also finished T2 at the Masters in April, poked fun at Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee, an outspoken critic of the Saudi-backed tour.
Phil Mickelson simply tweeted, “Awesome day today.”
Phil Mickelson practiced on the putting green at the LIV Golf Boston Invitational. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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The new agreement will merge the PIF’s golf-related businesses, which include LIV Golf, with that of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour into a “new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players.”
The Saudi PIF will also make a “capital investment” into the newly established entity, as part of the agreement.
Another major point of the deal is that the agreement will end all pending litigation between the three circuits and will allow for players who left their respective tours to re-apply for membership following the 2023 season.
