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Donald Trump has termed the LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger 'a big, beautiful, and glamorous deal'.
The former US President has had good relations with the Saudi-backed circuit and has hosted several events on his golf courses in both seasons. He was recently seen at LIV Golf's DC Pro-Am event at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC.
Trump welcomed the news of the merger of two rival circuits. He congratulated the stakeholders on Truth Social, his social media platform. The former president wrote:
"Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. Congrats to all!!!"
Trump has been supportive of the PIF-backed circuit since its inception. Last year, during the IV Golf Invitational at Bedminster, he predicted that the breakaway league would soon have all the best players in the world.
The former US president had also predicted that those who were loyal to the PGA Tour would soon pay a big price as both tours would be merged sooner or later.
He wrote on Truth Social:
"All of those golfers that remain 'loyal' to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big 'thank you' from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year.
"If you don't take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were."
Players like Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris, Tiger Woods, and Hideki Matsuyama were offered huge checks to join the Saudi-backed circuit, but they turned them down, citing morality and their loyalty to the PGA Tour. Trump's prediction has come true within a year as the trio of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf announced their unification on Tuesday, June 6.
Will Donald Trump benefit from the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger?
The surprising merger of the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and LIV Golf can be pretty beneficial for Donald Trump. The 45th US President has always been supportive of the upstart league. It is no secret that Trump has good relations with Saudi Arabia.
While the PGA Tour will control the newly formed entity and select a significant number of the board of directors of the new company, PIF will initially be the exclusive investor with a right of refusal.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is PIF's governor, will join the policy board of the PGA Tour. The Executive Committee of the Board will comprise Al-Rumayyan, Jay Monahan, Ed Herlihy, and PGA Tour Policy Board member Jimmy Dunne.
Last year, two of his golf courses hosted LIV Golf events: Bedminster and Doral. This season, three of the LIV events will be held at Trump-owned courses. Now the unification of the three tours might bring more opportunities for the former president.
The merger might not benefit Trump with immediate effect, as the tours will go as planned for the remaining season. However, there are ample opportunities for him in the coming years.
