The Professional Golfers Association of America, the 1916 creation of one blue blooded Rodman Wanamaker of Philadelphia to professionalize golf, has been locked in a controversy with its nascent rival, the LIV Tour since its inception two years ago.
In fact, they were engaged in anti-trust litigation instigated by several golfers (talking to you, Slim Shady Mickelson) with the litigation joined by LIV.
It was a nasty spat.
LIV — 54 in Roman numerals suggested by the number of holes, 54, in a LIV team-oriented, no cut golf tourney — is the work of the Saudi controlled sovereign wealth fund curiously named: Public Investment Fund or PIF.
Australian golfer Greg Norman, the Great White Shark choke artist, is the face of the LIV Tour and has been a very feisty chap, I suppose just what was needed to stick a thumb in the PGA’s controlling eye.
When the PIF funded the Greg Norman-led LIV and began to slap top golfers with the PIF checkbook, the PGA cried foul and accused the LIV, Norman, and the PIF of engaging in “sportswashing.”
Forbes magazine reports Phil Mickelson was paid $200,000,000 as a signing bonus with half of the amount paid up front. There is no truth to the notion he received a bone saw to memorialize the signing.
Sportswashing is the attempt to modify the heinous, bloody reputation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a bloodthirsty regime that engages in killing its media critics and cutting them up into small pieces in order to transport them.
This is generally known as the Khashoggi murder and dismemberment.
This chap here, Jamal Khasahoggi was a writer including writing for the New York Times and the Washington Post at the time of his assassination. Jolly looking chap who dealt in words. Words.
He wrote things that did not please this guy, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sultan, known as MBS (or the Dark Prince) and the actual ruler of Saudi Arabia.
On 2 October 2018, MBS had fifteen assassins lure Khashoggi into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where they killed and dismembered him — for his writings — making sure to record the event. They then disposed of his body after which the recordings became public.
The Dark Prince denied any involvement, but the American CIA in November 2018 issued an intel assessment that said, “Yep, the Dark Prince ordered it.”
Ahh, the deal, yes. So, the PGA — after denouncing the sportswashing of the LIV, the PIF, and MBS — has decided the Greg Norman bunch is not so bad after all and is going to form a new company with them.
The new deal — a for profit enterprise — will combine the PGA Tour, the LIV, and the DP World Tour (used to be the European Tour before re-branded (kaching, kaching) by an Emirati multinational logistics company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates).
The PGA Tour is composed of 47 official sponsored events per calendar year.
The LIV Tour — 14 events, up from 8 in 2022.
The DP World Tour — 39 events in 26 countries.
It is not clear how these tours will eventually be consolidated, but the initial indications are the 54-hole format will survive in some fashion. That is a lot of golf.
So, the PGA Tour in the person of Commissioner Jay Monahan and the head of the PIF, Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, sat down and cut a deal to merge their warring interests by merging.
Interesting side note: Yasir Al-Rumayyan failed to notify his LIV Golf CEO and front man, Greg Norman, until less than 10 minutes before the deal was announced.
Likewise, Monahan did not notify Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy — both huge vocal supporters of the PGA Tour v the LIV — until after the deal was announced.
Tiger Woods blew off an $800,000,000 check to join the LIV and this is how he was rewarded for his loyalty? Tiger got played.
The actual structure of the merged entity is not fully fleshed out, but it looks like Al-Rumayyhan goes on the PGA Tour Board of Directors and is the Chairman of the Board of the new entity. Monahan goes on the board of the new entity.
Big fact: the PIF invests billions of petro dollars in the new entity which will arguably be controlled by the PGA, but, again, this is a preliminary take.
No doubt the animosity was genuine.
Jay Monahan used to love to ask, “Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?”
There were the expected aspersions as to Phil Mickelson taking the PIF/Saudi blood money and that Greg Norman was a buffoon. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods had some precious utterances as to those who went to the LIV.
All is now forgiven as they have rented the honeymoon suite at the nicest hotel in Riyadh (owned by the Dark Prince and the PIF, of course) and are looking forward to their honeymoon in 2024 when the new deal emerges.
Oddly, the news of the merger leaked out before Commissioner Jay Monahan was able to notify the PGA Tour golfers — awkward.
In general, the reactions have been either: “Oh, boy, more PIF money, y’all!” or, “Aren’t we just getting into the same bloody hot tub with the PIF and MBS we wailed about before?”
Follow the money and the bone saw, y’all.
This could be the logo for the new merged tour, right? The Bonesaw Tour?
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.
