What’s going on?
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour have announced a shock merger with the LIV Golf Series, run by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
But I thought they hated each other?
It did seem that way. The PGA Tour chief executive, Jay Monahan, talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV golfers had ever had to apologise for being a member of the PGA Tour. Now he refers to the Saudi’s PIF as “world-class investing” and has applauded the governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan, for his “vision”.
What changed since then?
Money talks, essentially. The PIF, a sovereign wealth fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was putting a strain on the PGA Tour to compete with their almost unlimited finances. Monahan said the …
- June 10, 2023
