NEWSLETTER
It’s been a whirlwind the last 24 hours in the golf world. Things are starting to settle down after yesterday’s shocking PGA Tour/LIV Golf merger announcement a bit. That said, we’re learning more about it and getting more player reactions. There will undoubtedly be more details in the coming weeks. Let’s try and dive into what we know a day after the historic announcement.
Who Knew About The PGA/LIV Merger?
That’s still a great question, but reports suggest that outside of PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, PIF chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan only a slight few executives and lawyers were aware to help broker the deal. I would suggest that while they deny it, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson might have each had some sort of knowledge this was possible. In the last few weeks, Rory’s tone changed a bit in the media when asked about LIV. While he still praised the Tour, he seemed a bit exhausted and weary of the situation. Sure, that definitely could be him just being tired of it. Or it could be exhaustion and frustration from being the “sacrificial lamb” that he referred to himself as this morning.
So did Rory full-on know the merger was happening this fast or even at all? Maybe not. But his actions the last few weeks, at least to me, suggest he was aware something was coming.
Phil Mickelson on the other hand had a different tone the last few weeks, but the exact opposite one of Rory. Mickelson had become even more confrontational and even a bit cocky on Twitter about where LIV Golf stands in the grand scheme. He’d been throwing even more shots at the PGA and Jay Monahan, even calling for a debate with Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee.
And then there was this response from Phil to the media during the PGA Championship when asked about his recent “chippiness” on Twitter:
“I guess it’s because I know some things that others don’t”
Could that have meant something else? Sure. But it’s hard to believe in coincidences like that when negotiations had been going on for multiple weeks at that point. Not to mention, Phil has been LIV’s face of the PGA/LIV divide since he signed on with the tour.
Outside of those two players though, it truly does seem like just about everyone in the golf world was completely blindsided by this announcement. Heck, even LIV CEO Greg Norman didn’t find out until just before the official announcement on CNBC.
What Happens To Professional Golf Going Forward?
Yet another question we don’t have all the answers to. One thing we do know is that Monhan and al-Rumayyan have agreed to a “framework agreement” of what the new commercial entity will look like. Monahan said, “We’re in a framework agreement. We haven’t concluded the definitive agreement. I have not had the opportunity that I’m going to have to conduct a comprehensive empirical evaluation.”
While your guess is as good as mine, it feels to me like team golf will be sticking around in some capacity, but the PGA Tour’s model will likely be the prevalent form of professional golf we see in the future. Whether it’s a handful of team events sprinkled throughout the schedule, or some sort of special tournament similar to the FedEx Cup at the end of each PGA season, or something completely different I’m not totally sure. But from what Monahan and al-Rumayyan said, it does seem like a team aspect will remain in some capacity.
LIV will continue to operate through at least the rest of their 2023 season. According to the Golf Channel, there will be a process for players to re-apply for the PGA Tour following the 2023 season. Do they have to apply right away? Will there still be an option for a LIV Tour schedule? That we don’t know yet.
There are still a TON of questions left unanswered. It’s possible that LIV could continue to operate as is through 2024-25, but there’s still no official word on that. We should get more clarity on how things will unfold in the coming days or weeks.
Will LIV Players Be Welcomed Back Right Away?
While the process to re-apply is scheduled to begin after the 2023 season, it does seem like there will be some sort of punishment for those who left the PGA Tour or reward for those who stayed. During his media availability today, Rory McIlroy said, “There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour, started litigation against it. We can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen.”
On top of that, Jay Monahan was adamant that players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy would be rewarded for their loyalty.
So it does seem like some sort of reward is coming for those who stayed, outside of the influx of cash headed to the PGA Tour from the PIF. Either that or LIV players returning will have some sort of punishment prior to returning. Apologies for the vagueness there, but that’s just the fact of the matter at this point in time. Outside of a few people, not many people know anything.
Several PGA Players Are BIG MAD
Jay Monahan held a players’ meeting yesterday in person after practice rounds for the RBC Canadian. Reports from that meeting suggest things got very hostile toward the PGA commissioner. While Monahan apparently apologized for the way things went down, several players still left livid and wondered how they could trust their commissioner again.
Others, such as PGA Tour professional Maverick McNealy took an optimistic stance that while in the short term players, himself included, are blindsided and upset that in the long term this could be good for the game of golf.
Is This Merger Good For Professional Golf?
Unfortunately, we live in a world where money talks the loudest. We’ve had that re-established multiple times over the last year or two with the LIV Tour emergence. That lesson was once again on display yesterday with this merger. The number one argument PGA supporters had against the LIV Tour was that the money was coming from an outlet marred with morality issues. But at some point, the number got too high for the PGA themselves to turn down. Rory spoke on this as well today in Canada:
“I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that this is what’s going to happen…Whether you like it or not, the PIF and the Saudis want to spend money in the game of golf and they weren’t going to stop. This is the one thing that I’ve always thought about, how can we get that money into the game, but use it the right way? And I think that’s what this ultimately will do, hopefully. I mean, that’s my hope.
You can watch McIlroy’s full press conference below in the Tweet from the PGA Tour.
So, where the money is coming from sucks. And if you never want to watch professional golf again or the PGA Tour because of it, I wouldn’t judge you. But from stricly a product standpoint and setting the morality issues aside, this merger will be very good for all of those involved in professional golf. We will go back to getting the best players in the world in same fields more often than just four times a year. Tournament purses will undoubtedley bigger and players will start to earn more money. The PIF will most certainly invest massive amounts of money into the PGA Tour to help it operate at peak efficieny to make it the best product possible.
“It’s very hard to keep up with people that have more money than anyone else. And, again, if they want to put that money into the game of golf, then why don’t we partner with them and make sure that it’s done in the right way. And that’s sort of where my head’s at.” – Rory McIlroy
I do hope this works out in the long term, and I think it will. I hope the PGA Tour uses this influx of cash to make the lives of their players better, and again I think they will. Hopefully after nearly two years of clashing, this merger changes professional golf for the better going forward.
