BREAKING: PGA TOUR to MERGE with LIV Golf – IT’S HAPPENING!

I don’t think anyone expected this, but nearly a year after LIV Golf held its first event at the Centurion Club (England), reports are breaking that the PGA TOUR—who, through Commissioner Jay Monahan, claimed that suspended LIV golfers could face lifetime bans from the TOUR—and DP World Tour will be merging with LIV Golf into one new, yet-to-be-named league.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As many are aware, the PGA TOUR and LIV have been in contested anti-trust litigation for some time now, but it appears that both sides realized something that forced everyone to the table to negotiate the creation of one super league (ending the litigation in the process).

While the intimate details of the new league have not yet been announced, the timing is particularly interesting:  Brooks Koepka—who will hopefully get the credit and praise he deserves now (and wouldn’t miss the opportunity to troll Brandel Chamblee)—won his fifth Major just over two weeks ago, and the 2023 U.S. Open is less than 10 days away.

Welfare Check on Chamblee

— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) June 6, 2023

This unexpected announcement brings thousands of questions immediately to mind, including:

• Will certain LIV golfers now be eligible for the U.S. Open (at Los Angeles Country Club)?
• What happens to the LIV teams?
• Will the LIV players be eligible for PGA TOUR events?
• Will PGA TOUR players look to join LIV teams?
• Will Henrik Stenson be reinstated as the 2023 European Team’s Ryder Cup Captain?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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While none of these, and countless other, questions have been answered yet, it cannot be denied that this is a win for LIV, who many anticipated would promptly fail once the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund declined to invest further capital. The substantial upfront investment, however, appears to have done the job, as it “forced” the TOUR’s hand to implement its own high profit opportunities, like the Player Impact Program and the high-value “elevated events,” the latter of which, inadvertently, seem to have caused more problems by forcing top talent to appear for 12 additional events during the lengthy calendar.

Perhaps most interesting about this announcement will be the commentary from certain parties, like Monahan and LIV commissioner Greg Norman, as well as Rory and his choice words for Phil Mickelson (if you haven’t already, go watch Full Swing on Netflix—which will unquestionably will have some real juicey episodes in the near future). It, likewise, will be very interesting to see which players welcome back the LIV players with open arms (and, thus, who still hold a grudge).

What is certain, golf is in a better place today than it was at the start of this week.  And perhaps the best part:  it’s only Tuesday.