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The PGA Tour and LIV Golf announced on Tuesday that they would be merging. This was a shocking move, one that is now under scrutiny. The two tours had gone at it since the latter's inception and were forming intense rivalries.
Greg Norman, CEO of LIV, recently said that he thought the two tours needed to come to an agreement. Out of the blue, it seems as if they have.
However, the merger, which is not slated to take full effect until next year, may be on hold. It's currently being reviewed by the Justice Department.
The Justice Department is reviewing the partnership, which was cleverly not called a merger officially, to see whether or not it violates antitrust laws. It does seem as if this will form a bona fide monopoly, which may be why they're stepping in.
The Department was already reviewing all of the fights that had gone on between the two tours. There were intense legal battles that were also under review. Naturally, those battles will end with this partnership, but the review will not.
The deal will see the PIF, the governing body of LIV Golf, send money to the new joint golfing entity, with the PGA Tour continuing. The PIF will likely be its major sponsor now.
LIV Golf may or may not continue, but their style of play and the money behind it will. Whether or not the tour exists after the partnership remains to be seen, but its effects will live on, regardless.
The two sides decided to come together to end all of the fighting and disunity in the sport. Every major tournament voted to allow LIV members to participate, but each one said that they were disappointed with the divide. Now, they're attempting to erase the chasm.
Whether or not they'll actually be able to partner is pending the review, but at least there is a working relationship now.
LIV Golf, PGA Tour excited to move forward
Both entities are excited about the prospect of this partnership, should it be allowed to move forward. Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF governor, shared their excitement over this development.
Monahan said via the Tour website:
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love. 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."
Al-Rumayyan has a similar feeling:
“Today is a very exciting day for this special game and the people it touches around the world. We are proud to partner with the PGA TOUR to leverage PIF’s unparalleled success and track record of unlocking value and bringing innovation and global best practices to business and sectors worldwide.
"We are committed to unifying, promoting, and growing the game of golf around the world and offering the highest-quality product to the many millions of long-time fans globally, while cultivating new fans."
Both parties seem eager to get started if the review doesn't bring any negative information into the spotlight.
