Horror in the golf world: “I feel cheated”

HAfter a completely unexpected alliance between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour and the LIV Tour, who were previously enemies and funded from Saudi Arabia, many golf professionals are horrified and do not understand. Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, until recently two of the most prominent defenders in the old world of golf and the PGA Tour, didn’t comment on Tuesday at first, while others didn’t contain their frustration and anger. PGA boss Jay Monahan had to be insulted as a hypocrite at a meeting with players on the sidelines of the Canadian Open in Toronto, as reported by the American media, citing the participants.

“I feel betrayed and (…) won’t be able to trust anyone in PGA corporate for a very long time,” Wesley Bryan tweeted. Byung Hong Ahn wrote, “I suspect the LIV teams were having trouble finding sponsors and the PGA Tour couldn’t turn down the money. Both tours are win-win, but this is a big loss for everyone who has defended the tour for the past two years.”

Players will find out about it on the Internet

Even before golf tours announced the completely unexpected “groundbreaking golf standardization agreement” in a statement Tuesday, many players learned of the turn of events online and reacted with annoyance. “I love finding the morning news on Twitter,” wrote two-time Major winner Collin Morikawa. Michael Kim said: “Very curious how many people knew about this deal. About 5-7 people? It’s a player-run organization, right?”

Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (PIF), which previously participated in the LIV Tour, is now also a shareholder in the new joint venture, according to the announcement. “After two years of excitement and confusion, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said Monahan, head of the PGA Tour. “This will usher in a new era in global golf – for the better,” said Phil Mickleson positively, who has been criticized more than anyone for moving to the LIV Tour. “Great day today,” he wrote.

With an agreement to work together in the future, all outstanding legal disputes between the parties involved have been terminated by mutual agreement. In addition, after the 2023 season, opportunities should be created for the return of players from the LIV Tour to the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.

The LIV tournaments have been criticized since their debut in June 2022 due to the millions of investments made by Saudi Arabia. The backstory is that a country that has been criticized for human rights violations is trying to improve its image with lucrative sporting events. Many top golfers followed the call of the money and switched to competing series, including Germany’s Martin Kaimer. Now the Saudi state fund PIF (Public Investment Fund) is part of a new company that is supposed to consolidate the tour business. The name of the new organization, which also aims to further promote the team format introduced by the LIV Tour, has yet to be announced.

Families of 9/11 victims criticize deal

Meanwhile, the families of the victims and survivors of the September 11, 2001 attacks have been highly critical of the deal between the American PGA Tour and the Saudi LIV golf series. In a 9/11 statement, Families United denounced the “hypocrisy and greed” of the PGA leadership.

The statement said those affected were “shocked and deeply offended” by the announced merger. “Saudi agents played a role in the 9/11 attacks and are now funding all professional golf.”

The PGA and its commissioner, Jay Monahan, appear to have “become Saudi puppets,” said Terry Strada, head of the 9/11 organization. To do this, “it will take billions of dollars to clean up Saudi Arabia’s reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the kingdom spent its billions of dollars before 9/11 on financing terrorism.”