In this article you will get – hopefully – a simple and straightforward overview of what has led to this point, what we know and what we still need answered regarding the PGA Tour’s new collaboration with PIF (Saudi Arabian investment fund) which is a major financial backer of LIV Golf.

Timeline

But how did we get here? This is what led to the surprising merger of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf.

• 27 October 2021: A Saudi-funded golf tour called LIV Golf was introduced with former golf star Greg Norman as manager.
• November 21, 2021: PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan sent a letter to PGA players that prize money will increase significantly in 2022 to discourage players from going to LIV Golf.
• February 2, 2022: PGA star Phil Mickelson said in an interview with Golf Digest that he has a huge problem with the way the PGA Tour distributes profits and said that the PGA Tour has “abhorrent greed”.
• 17 February 2022: More commentary on the Saudi Arabian regime than Mickelson in his autobiography also elicited more backlash from the media, players and fans. He chose to take a break from golf after all the criticism it received.
• March 16, 2022: Tournament schedule for LIV Golf published. The tour will consist of both individual and team-based tournaments with a total prize pool of up to USD 255 million (NOK 2.6 billion at today’s rates).
• May 10, 2022: The PGA Tour rejected players from its own tour to play the first LIV Golf tournament in London.
• May 31, 2022: Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson became the first major stars to announce the transition from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf and participate in London. Stars such as Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood also took part.
• June 9, 2022: Monahan suspended LIV Golf player from the PGA Tour
• 21 June 2022: Brooks Koepka joins LIV Golf. Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and several other players will eventually transfer over.
• July 1, 2022: The DP World Tour has fined DPWT players who have participated in the LIV tournament £100,000 (1.3 million kroner).
• August 2, 2022: Mickelson, along with 11 other LIV Golf players, sued the PGA Tour, alleging the monopoly was illegal and preventing them from free competition. Later, several players withdrew from the lawsuit, while LIV Golf defended its name in the lawsuit, which became known as “LIV Golf vs. the PGA Tour”.
• August 16, 2022. Much-talked-about player encounters during the BMW Championship with, among others, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and some of the biggest profiles on the PGA tour. Viktor Hovland was also present at the meeting in Wilmington.
• August 24, 2022: Monahan announced revolutionary changes to the PGA calendar with several so-called “enhanced events” later called “designated events” with a $20 million (215 million kroner) prize pool in which all the best players on the PGA tour were required to participate.
• September 29, 2022: The PGA Tour counter sued LIV Golf and believes the tour constituted sport laundering and the players were not harmed whatsoever by the PGA Tour’s suspension.
• 29 October 2022: The R&A Open Organizer was the first Main organizer to be selected No banned LIV Golf players from their tournaments. In the coming months, three other Major organizers will follow suit and unlock players from LIV Golf in their tournaments.
• January 26, 2023: The PGA Tour adds PIF and PIF director Yasir Al-Rumayyan to their counterclaim against LIV Golf.
• March 1, 2023: The PGA Tour announced radical changes to the tournament schedule in 2024, announcing a reduced starting field and no cuts starting next season.
• April 4, 2023: LIV Golfers lost an arbitration case against DP World Tour in England, which allowed the tour to refund fines and suspensions for members who had played in LIV Golf tournaments. Many LIV golfers (including Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood) canceled their memberships on the DP World Tour after paying a NOK 1.3 million fine to avoid earning more, making them irrelevant for this fall’s Ryder Cup. Instead, Garcia chose not to pay the fine as the only one of the 17 DPWT players.
• May 21, 2023: Brooks Koepka became the first LIV player to win a Major when he topped the PGA Championship.
• June 6, 2023: Shocking news: PGA Tour and DP World Tour team up with PIF (Saudi Arabian Investment Fund supporting LIV Golf).
• June 14, 2023: Jay Monahan is temporarily stepping down as CEO of the PGA due to health issues.

We know this

That brings us to the current situation. What do we know about the deal between the PIF and the PGA Tour? What do we still need answers to?

What we do know is that LIV Golfers can now return to the PGA Tour. Details of how are still somewhat uncertain, but in a letter Jay Monahan sent players after the merger, it was stated that “we will work together to establish a fair and objective process for players who wish to reapply for membership on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour after 2023 season, per the respective tour guidelines”.

According to golf journalist Dan Rapaport, it is expected that players returning to the PGA Tour will have to pay some fines.

Discovery golf expert Henrik Bjørnstad believes several LIV players will return to the PGA Tour.

– I really believe so. There are lots of people who want to play in both places. If LIV is to continue as before with its tournaments, I think there are a lot of people looking to mix play on the two tours.

The lawsuit between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has now ended. “Today’s announcement ends all pending lawsuits between the organizations involved and prohibits the recruitment of further members to the PGA Tour, DP World Tour or LIV Golf,” reads a letter from Monahan to players.

“The merger announcement does not excuse past sins,” said Bill Baer, ​​who headed the Justice Department’s antitrust division during the Obama administration.

Even though the lawsuits for the two tours have ended, it does not mean that the PGA Tour will be given sanctions if it is proven that the tour has committed an unlawful act.

The article continues below the video.

We are still wondering about this

What does the agreement mean for LIV Golf? The criticized golf tour that has been the PGA Tour’s nemesis and competitor over the past few years is now in fact owned by the PGA Tour. There is still a lot of uncertainty around how LIV Golf will fit into the PGA umbrella. Asked whether LIV Golf would continue to exist as a separate golf tour, Monahan replied: “I don’t want to make any statements or predictions.”

What does the agreement mean for the PGA Tour? As all the cards have yet to be laid on the table, it is hard to say for sure what this deal means, despite the fact that there is a huge amount of money going into the sport of golf.

When is the merger and what are these new golf units going into effect? Not yet. Perhaps the simplest answer to that. Monahan has on several occasions referred to the agreement as a “framework agreement” in which much remains to be done before it is approved and enforceable. According to the major NY Times newspaper, the deal must be approved in advance by the PGA Tour board, where there are few people who have never heard of the deal before going public. The board consists of five independent directors and five players (Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Charley Hoffman, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson).

What happened to the 2024 season and “defined events” on the PGA Tour? That’s not sure. The PGA Tour’s major revamp with the calendar and introduction of tournaments highlighted is mostly a move on LIV Golf, now that both tours are under the same roof, it’s uncertain what the tournament will hold in 2024. Would you like to? remove the term “designated event” and instead distribute the huge amount of money that PIF brings to all tournaments? In March it was also decided that some tournaments would not be cut in 2024. Is this something that will go away? that remains to be seen.

– Maybe quite relaxed

Bjørnstad also has some questions about what the future of international golf will look like.

– One wonders what exactly is going on and what kind of ripple effect it will cause. There are so many questions at the same time.

However, he believes the merger is a good thing for the future of golf.

Viktor Hovland has been sitting quietly on the ship since the shocking news came out in early June. Bjørnstad doesn’t think the Norwegian cares too much about his PGA Tour deal with PIF.

– I don’t think Viktor thought much of it. He seems to be someone who focuses 100 percent on himself and his development as a golfer. He probably has his focus in the right place and isn’t spending much energy at all on this.

– He understands that Jay Monahan is clearly not listening to the players. He’s probably pretty relaxed about it all.