MY NUMBER 1 RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE FULL TIME INCOME ONLINE: CLICK HERE
The PGA Tour has agreed to a merger with its Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf.
The proposed merger comes after the two tours have been embroiled in lawsuits over antitrust claims.
The two tours have signed an agreement that would combine the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf into a new, as-yet-unnamed for-profit company.
The agreement includes the DP World Tour, also known as the European PGA Tour.
The LIV Golf Series is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and critics have accused it of being a vehicle for the country to improve its image despite criticism of its human rights record.
The competitive circuit began in 2022 and has attracted many big-name players from the PGA Tour, including Hall of Fame golfer Phil Mickelson, former World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and Australia’s Cameron Smith.
In a statement, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said: “After two years of disruption and disruption, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.
“This transformational partnership recognizes the immense power of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and brings together the DP World Tour and LIV – including the concept of Team Golf – to create an organization that will benefit golfers, commercially and philanthropically. partners and fans.”
As part of the agreement, the parties waive all claims against each other with immediate effect.
It is unclear what form the LIV Golf League would take in 2024.
The antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour was originally filed last August by 11 golfers before LIV Golf took over. He is scheduled to be heard in 2024.
In April, the DP World Tour won a legal battle against 12 LIV players who had committed “serious breaches” of the Tour’s code of conduct by playing in LIV Golf tournaments without permission.
Subsequent increased penalties and suspensions prompted Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson to resign their memberships and become ineligible for the Ryder Cup.
Those players could now return to the fold, with the tours pledging to set up a “fair and objective process” for players to reapply for membership after this season ends.
The merger decision comes less than two weeks before the third major of the men’s golf season, the U.S. Open.
MY NUMBER 1 RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE FULL TIME INCOME ONLINE: CLICK HERE