Golf civil war over? $2 billion PGA Tour/LIV peace deal reportedly agreed
The days of the golf wars between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf may be over.
The UK Sun has reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – who have backed LIV Golf since its first season in 2022 – will pay roughly $2 billion to become part of the PGA Tour and put an end to the saga that has divided men’s professional golf.
According to the report, LIV’s 14 event schedule will continue under the PGA Tour umbrella, while off the course the Saudi’s will gain significant influence.
The PIF will have an 11 per cent share in the PGA Tour as well as two places on the PGA Tour board including the position of chairman.
For the PIF, it does not appear to be a hefty price to pay as they possess roughly $1.4 trillion in assets.
PGA Tour players will benefit from further prize money increases created by another massive cash injection, will the DP World Tour will also have their prize purses increase courtesy of their strategic alliance with the PGA Tour.
A merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was announced by the two sides in June last year but little has come of the ongoing negotiations since.
Speculation has been rife regarding the sticking points in the negotiations which have included scheduling, overseas travel and financial penalties for LIV defectors.
But publicly all involved have kept their cards close to their chest.
There have been public displays of unity by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan in recent weeks with the pair hitting the golf course together in the pro-am at the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Golf fans will no doubt have many questions based off the reporting such as can players freely interchange between LIV and PGA Tour events? Will LIV events get world ranking points now that they under the PGA Tour banner? And many more.
But for now, those questions remain unanswered.
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