The aftermath of the PGA Tour’s merger with LIV Golf, one of the most controversial mergers in professional golf, has been quite dramatic.
The players, who have been defending the PGA Tour, are not hiding their embarrassment. The PGA Tour, the world’s leading men’s professional golf organization, has been staunchly opposed to LIV Golf, which was founded last year with the backing of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF. But when the PGA Tour announced a merger with LIV Golf, the deep-pocketed PIF went from enemy to partner overnight. The PGA’s sudden change of course was met with dismay by players who had been defending the PGA and criticizing those who had left for LIV. Most notably, Rory McIlroy, who along with “golf emperor” Tiger Woods was the face of the PGA, criticized the merger. “I still hate LIV, and bringing back the players who left for LIV is at the expense of the players who casinosite stayed in the PGA.” PGA Commissioner Jay Monaghan has said that “the players who stayed on the PGA Tour will be appropriately compensated,” but the anger is unlikely to go away. The fallout from the merger has spread beyond the golf world and into American politics. Former US President Donald Trump, who hosted a LIV golf tournament at his golf course, congratulated the merger on social media, saying it was a “brilliant deal,” while President Joe Biden, who is trying to improve relations with Saudi Arabia, jokingly avoided a direct response to the controversy. “I’m planning to play golf on the PGA Tour.” Relatives of the victims, who have criticized LIV Golf because many of the 9-11 attackers were Saudis, issued a statement saying they were “shocked and offended.”