In a move that has stunned most of the professional golf world, the PGA and LIV Golf have merged into a single company. The two sides will also be merging with the European DP World Tour..The news was announced by PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, less than a year after he said any potential truce with the rival Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit was "off the table." .“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” Monahan said in a statement..“This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV, including the team golf concept, to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans."."Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future.”.“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights. This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better.”.LIV Golf, financed by the Saudi PIF and led by Greg Norman, lured some of the top names in golf last year with reported nine-figure contracts, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, reports The New York Post, adding, the PGA Tour then banned any LIV Golf defectors from competing on the Tour, and the two leagues were embroiled in an antitrust battle.. “Awesome day today,” Mickelson wrote on Twitter.....more to come
