LIV Golf merger: Seven questions everyone is asking after blockbuster deal
Jack Birle
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The PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf announced a merger on Tuesday, ending a multi-year feud between the two organizations.
While the agreement has been announced, terms are still being finalized and the news has left several questions regarding both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Here is a look at some of those questions.
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Will it spark an antitrust investigation?
The PGA Tour is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegations of anti-competitive practices related to suspending golfers who defected to LIV Golf, but the new merger is reportedly slated to be scrutinized by regulators in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Bloomberg reports that the Justice Department will likely review the deal as opposed to the Federal Trade Commission, which usually handles sports mergers.
Based on the reports, an antitrust investigation appears inevitable even as the Justice Department’s investigation looks likely to dissipate with the PGA Tour agreeing to create a process to allow players to reapply for membership.
What are the 9/11 families saying about the merger?
The families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been vocal detractors of LIV Golf.
A group of 9/11 families contends that Saudi Arabia was more closely involved with the hijackers and Islamic extremism more broadly than was once believed. The Saudi Arabian government has maintained that any connections to the hijackers are purely coincidental.
9/11 Families United Chairwoman Terry Strada, whose husband, Tom, died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, slammed the merger in a statement on Tuesday.
“PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation. But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al-Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones. Make no mistake — we will never forget,” Strada said.
“Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour. They do now — as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed. Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money — it was never to honor the great game of golf,” Strada continued.
What does it mean for the future of Donald Trump’s involvement with LIV?
Former President Donald Trump, an avid golfer and owner of several golf courses, has hosted various LIV Golf events at his golf courses in New Jersey and Virginia, and has been a partner to the upstart golf tour.
Trump has previously hosted PGA events at his golf courses and was slated to host the 2022 PGA Championship at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. The event was moved following the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump welcomed the merger in a post on Tuesday, calling it a “big, beautiful, and glamorous deal.”
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Trump had predicted the PGA Tour and LIV Golf would merge, saying it was “inevitable” in July 2022.
His golf courses in New Jersey and Florida are slated to host LIV Golf events in August and October, respectively.
Will the players who left for LIV need to pay a penalty to join back up with the tour?
When several PGA Tour players decided to join LIV Golf in 2022, the tour retaliated by suspending the defecting golfers from the PGA and PGA events.
In the announcement of the merger, the organizations said they will work to allow golfers to reapply for membership with the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour but did not specify what the process would entail.
“The three organizations will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season and for determining fair criteria and terms of re-admission, consistent with each Tour’s policies,” the news release said.
What does it mean for the PGA’s Netflix documentary?
Netflix released the documentary series Full Swing in February, which followed several PGA golfers during the 2022 season. The show offered increased access to the golf world at a time when LIV Golf began to entice players to play on their tour instead of the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour and Netflix announced in March that Full Swing had been renewed for a second season, which would offer “more unprecedented access throughout the 2023 PGA Tour season.” Nothing has been announced regarding any changes to the show, as the 2023 PGA Tour is expected to continue despite the merger.
With “unprecedented access,” viewers will likely be able to see the reaction to the merger when the new season of the show is released in 2024.
What other sports is Saudi Arabia throwing money at?
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is the main driver behind LIV Golf, and the kingdom has faced accusations that it is attempting to improve its international image and reputation by funding the league — a tactic known as “sportswashing.”
Activists who oppose LIV have pointed to the country’s history of human rights violations, particularly the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Other sports Saudi Arabia has thrown money at include soccer and Formula One racing. The Public Investment Fund owns 80% of the Premier League soccer club Newcastle, and Saudi Arabia has hosted one race per year on the Formula One calendar since 2021 with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
Why strike a deal now after more than a year of tearing the golf world apart?
The deal allows both LIV Golf and the PGA Tour to “grow these combined commercial businesses, drive greater fan engagement and accelerate growth initiatives already underway,” according to the Tuesday news release. But one of the most notable items in the announcement was that the lawsuit between the two entities would end.
“Today’s announcement will be followed by a mutually agreed end to all pending litigation between the participating parties,” the release said.
The PGA Tour has resisted LIV Golf over the past two years, but LIV Golf had bigger money prizes and was enticing golfers to defect, which likely pressured the PGA Tour to partner with the upstart league rather than continue to compete with them on the green and in the courtroom.
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Notably, the Public Investment Fund is going to “make a capital investment into the new entity to facilitate its growth and success,” something PGA golfer Rory McIlroy alluded to at a press conference on Wednesday.
“At least the PGA Tour now controls how that money is spent. If you’re thinking about one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy? At the end of the day, money talks, and you’d rather have them as a partner,” McIlroy said.