LIV Golf (Saudi PIF), "Mergers," and More

[jxdama]

2 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

PGA Tour agrees to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf

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The PGA Tour is merging with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf, following months of tensions and mounting lawsuits between the competitors.

No details, but I'm shocked.

If  its true  its a smart  move. If a LIV player wins the  US Open then the PGA will seem to have the  less talented  players. Koepka  may have  made this  possible.

[DeadMan]

More details:

PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF announce newly formed commercial entity to unify golf

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PGA TOUR, DP World Tour, LIV Golf merge commercial operations under common ownership

 

[snapfade]

Here's the link on the PGA Tours announcement. 

PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF announce newly formed commercial entity to unify golf

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PGA TOUR, DP World Tour, LIV Golf merge commercial operations under common ownership

Awaiting meltdown from Brandel.

[DeadMan]

There is not a ton of details in that press release, but to me it sounds like the Saudi PIF is going to create and invest a company that owns the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV. I think the Saudis are buying out the PGA Tour and the DP World Cup. The Saudi PIF is going to own the major professional golf tours. I could be reading that wrong, but I doubt it.

If that's true, gross.

Another interesting tidbit is that Jimmy Dunne is going to be on the board of the new entity. He had some, uh, thoughts on the Saudis and LIV a while back:

si.com

 

[mcanadiens]

Awesome. More team golf. 

I'm gonna to try to get a team put together. Maybe call em the Louisville Lipouts. Or Lips for short. 

Maybe some kind of logo that combines a mouth with a golf hole. 

 

[Golfer20]

LOL

Ole Jay flipped HARD: 

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by Golfer20

[DeadMan]

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by DeadMan

[Killa]

I wonder how all of the “holier than thou” folks will comment on this now. I guess watching golf is off the table all together now. 

[PatrickMurtha]

42 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

There is not a ton of details in that press release, but to me it sounds like the Saudi PIF is going to create and invest a company that owns the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV. I think the Saudis are buying out the PGA Tour and the DP World Cup. The Saudi PIF is going to own the major professional golf tours. I could be reading that wrong, but I doubt it.

If that's true, gross.

Another interesting tidbit is that Jimmy Dunne is going to be on the board of the new entity. He had some, uh, thoughts on the Saudis and LIV a while back:

si.com

 

So much for the principled stance on sportswashing. 🙄 Just about everyone will now be bending over backwards to say that was never really the issue, money is money in today’s globalized world, etc. 

I’m a very cynical guy, and my cynicism is inadequate to this! 

Edited June 6, 2023 by PatrickMurtha

[saevel25]

PGA Tour, LIV Golf, DP World Tour announce merger in stunning move 'to unify the game of golf' - CBSSports.com

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The golf leagues are merging their commercial operations

Jay Monahan is a piece of work (insert other word options). 

Quote

"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. This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better."

Yep, let's do that 180-degree flip. It is all good now that I get the perk of running a bigger tour with more power and wealth available to me. 

I get it to a certain point, if you truly feared that the PGA Tour would disappear in let's say 5 years. I can rationalize the reason why this decision was made. Some might think, let the PGA Tour die and stand on the moral high ground. I do not know where I stand on that. Maybe it's time for the PGA Tour to just fade away and let golf go elsewhere without their control. 

6 minutes ago, Killa said:

I wonder how all of the “holier than thou” folks will comment on this now. I guess watching golf is off the table all together now. 

I will probably watch The US Open (USGA), The Open (R&A), and The Masters (Augusta National). 

I will probably not watch other tournaments. It is up in the air. 

[DaveP043]

1 minute ago, saevel25 said:

Jay Monahan is a piece of work (insert other word options). 

Yep, let's do that 180-degree flip. It is all good now that I get the perk of running a bigger tour with more power and wealth available to me. 

To be fair, I sincerely doubt that this is a unilateral decision by one individual.  But I do agree, its a complete reversal from the "sportswashing" standpoint, it shows that money really does matter more than principles in many conflicts.

[Pretzel]

This is honestly so comical it feels a little bit like the plot from a bad movie.

The PGA Tour has spent the last 2 years railing on about how accepting Saudi money is evil and makes you complicit, while defending themselves in court against anti-trust litigation as not being a monopoly because other large organizations like the Euro Tour exist.

Naturally, they chose the best possible way to settle anti-trust litigation - just invite the opposing party to merge into a single monopoly with the Euro Tour that you were previously insisting was and would remain a completely independent organization from yourself. Bonus point for the merger creating a single for-profit company when the PGA Tour had previously always been a non-profit organization. 

Just goes to show that the PGA Tour never cared about the source of the money, they only ever cared that it didn't filter through their pockets first before reaching any players and venues. 

8 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I will probably watch The US Open (USGA), The Open (R&A), and The Masters (Augusta National). 

I will probably not watch other tournaments. It is up in the air. 

One thing to note is that the PGA Championship is not hosted or organized by the PGA Tour, it's hosted and organized by the PGA of America (the same organization that accredits/certifies instructors across the country). They are separate entities, so if that was your concern for not watching the PGA Championship it might give you reason to reconsider. The PGA Championship is, after all, by the numbers the most competitive and difficult to win major championship on the calendar.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Pretzel

[Darkfrog]

I don't watch much professional golf anymore anyways, but if this is what it looks like, I'll probably just watch the major tournaments from now on.

This must have been in the works for awhile.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Darkfrog

[Yossarian]

It's really a surprise, I thought the whole LIV story would have ended with: 

- world goes in a recession in 6-12 months

- oil goes down to 20$ and the Saudi have to cut on the Sport washing extravaganza

- LIV shuts down and the prodigal sons come back to PGA

 

[CarlSpackler]

What the… my son just texted me the new about LIV and PGA Tour. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. 

[imsys0042]

Nothing in any of this tells me that the net effect of this is that the new company will try (half heartedly or genuinely who knows?) to make what LIV was doing better and viable and that the PGA basically retains control of everything (if I read the press release right).

the ugliness is taking the money from SA.  I wonder what triggered the reversal, but it doesn’t sound anywhere near as bad as I thought at first reading.  Only that the LIV sports washing money will be a part of it.  Which I think is dead wrong.   This might kill LIV faster than it would have on its own. 

[snapfade]

You knew it was coming. Everything boils down to money. I doubt PGA Tour ticket sales will drop. People will still watch and attend Tour events, women in SA will still get abused, Phil will still trash talk Rory, Brandel will whine and cry, and we will argue amongst ourselves over it. No matter what the long term outcome is, my life is not impacted by it. Unless, they raise the price of beer at tournaments even more. Now how come there isn't an outcry over that? 

[saevel25]

A leaked memo to the PGA Tour to the players. 

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by saevel25