Less than a year after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said that any potential truce with the rival Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit was “off the table,” a landmark merger between the two entities has been formed.
The PGA Tour released a statement Tuesday confirming that the Tour, Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the DP World reached an agreement with a goal to “unify the game of golf, on a global basis.”
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” Monahan said in a press release.
“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 continued, “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.
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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 those players that left their respective tours to re-apply for membership following the 2023 season.
“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights,” Monahan added.
“This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better.”
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