GOLF
PGA Tour and LIV golfers react to the news of the merger on social media
The Saudi-backed tour has sensationally struck a deal to merge with the established tournaments. Here’s how golf’s biggest stars reacted...
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour will merge with the breakaway LIV Golf tour in a sensational deal that reunites the world of elite golf.
For more than a year the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour had been the sworn enemy of the PGA Tour and the subject of litigation from the game’s governing body. Players who opted for a move to the LIV tour were ostracised and banned from competitions.
However on Tuesday a shock announcement confirmed that the war between the two entities had come to an end. Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, confirmed in a statement:
“This transformational partnership recognises 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 organisation that will benefit players, partners and fans.”
The news came as a huge shock to golf fans around the world, and even some of the game’s most famous players have been surprised by the news. Here’s how they reacted to the PGS-LIV Golf merger...
Phil Mickeson is one of the biggest draws in the world of golf and his decision to play for LIV Golf was a major moment in the feud between the organisations. It’s no surprise to see that he was delighted by the truce between the warring factions.
Former Ryder Cup captain Sir Nick Faldo was less happy with today’s news, insisting that he never thought the PGA tour would agree to a merger with the breakaway tour.
PGA golfer Smylie Kaufman has been on the tour since 2014 and summed up the mood in the sport as the news was announced.
Many golfers turned down lucrative offers from LIG Golf in order to remain with the PGA, an organisation that was opposed to the Saudi-backed tour. Understandably, some like Mackenzie Hughes are pretty annoyed with today’s news.
And finally, US golfer Collin Morikawa is unhappy about the way in which the news broke today. Morikawa is currently ranked 18th in the PGA Tour and was ranked number two as recently as 2021; he was unhappy to have found out about the merger on Twitter.