PGA Tour announces shock reconciliation with Saudi-backed ...

The US-based PGA Tour is set to partner with the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf, ending a feud that has dogged the men’s professional game for the past year.

The PGA Tour made the shock announcement on Tuesday, saying a new partnership with LIV and the DP World Tour would “unify the game of golf.”

“The parties have signed an agreement that combines PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour into a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity,” the statement read.

A spokesperson for the PGA Tour told CNN that the new relationship between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf is not a merger, but “a partnership/creation of a new commercial entity.”

The LIV Golf series, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), officially launched in June 2022, with participating players subsequently barred from competing in PGA Tour events. The PIF is a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, known by his initials MBS.

The two rival tours have since been involved in a series of legal disputes, with all pending litigation mutually ended under the new agreement. “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

Monahan described the deal as a “transformational partnership,” that would “benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans.”

He praised PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, saying his “vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach” was not only a solution to the division within the sport but also a “commitment to taking it to new heights.”

“This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better,” he added.

The emergence of the LIV Golf, offering huge prize money and guaranteed earnings across substantially fewer events than the PGA Tour, led to distinct fractures within the sport.

PIF pledged to award $250 million in total prize money for the tour’s inaugural season. Of the $25 million offered at each of the first seven events, $20 million was a guaranteed split between players.

The PGA Tour responded earlier this year by announcing a revamped schedule for 2024, with “designated events” offering increased prize purses, smaller fields, and no cuts.

The antagonism was embodied by one of its biggest stars, Rory McIlroy, who became the de-facto spokesperson for the PGA Tour and an outspoken critic of the breakaway series. In August 2022, the four-time major winner told CNN that LIV Golf had “ripped apart” the men’s game.

Tiger Woods was also critical, arguing in July 2022 that players who joined LIV Golf had “turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”

Phil Mickelson, one of the earliest to join LIV Golf, became one of the new tour’s most vocal defenders after facing heavy criticism for joining.

Responding to the announcement of the unification on Twitter, Mickelson said: “Awesome day today.”