The North American PGA Tour and the European DP World Tour announced Tuesday in a statement their merger with the dissident LIV Golf circuit, supported by Saudi Arabia, thus ending all disputes between them.
The PGA Tour said it had "signed an agreement that combines the commercial activities and rights" of the powerful Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF) in golf, including LIV, "with the commercial activities and rights of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour into a new collectively owned for-profit entity," without financial details being disclosed.
The PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF announce landmark agreement to unify men's professional golf.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 6, 2023
Pif's boss, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, will chair the board of directors of the new business entity, whose chief executive will be Jay Monahan, who heads the PGA Tour. "After two years of disruption and distractions, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love," said Jay Monahan, who had been at the forefront of the fight against LIV since its official launch in June 2022. The creation of this dissident circuit that has shaken world golf is part of Saudi Arabia's broader global offensive in the sport, under the aegis of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.
And this merger comes as a huge surprise as the PGA and LIV were engaged in a tug-of-war both on the legal level and on the sums offered to attract the most prestigious stars of the game. "This new partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour's history, heritage and pro competitive model and combines the DP World Tour and LIV – including the concept of team golf – to create an organization that will benefit golf players, business and charity partners, and fans," Monahan said.
"We are pleased to move forward, in line with the LIV and PIF's world-class investment experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not only a solution to the discord in our game, but also a commitment to take it to new heights," added the 53-year-old American. He continued: "This will usher in a new era in world golf, for the better."
"Today is a very exciting day for this special game, and the people it touches around the world," Yasir Al-Rumayyan said in the statement. "We are committed to unifying, promoting and developing the game of golf worldwide and offering the highest quality product to millions of long-standing fans around the world, while cultivating new fans," said the Saudi Arabian, who is also non-executive chairman of Newcastle Football Club.