PGA-LIV merger hangs over Canadian Open. What’s behind the controversy? – National | 24CA News
The air is thick over the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto, and wildfire smoke isn’t solely accountable.
Some of the world’s finest golfers taking part within the premier Canadian occasion, which began Thursday, are additionally having to cope with the fallout of the newly-announced LIV Golf and PGA Tour merger.
The deal between the rival golf leagues shook the sporting world when it was introduced Tuesday; the leagues have been engaged in bitter battles for 2 years.
It was almost a 12 months in the past when LIV Golf teed off its opening occasion – overlapping with the PGA’s Canadian Open – and regardless of the merger, there stay extra questions than solutions.
Here’s what we all know in regards to the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf:
What is the PGA Tour and LIV Golf?
The non-profit PGA Tour is the world’s premier membership group for touring skilled golfers. It co-sanctions tournaments on the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamérica and PGA Tour Canada.
The modern-day PGA Tour was fashioned in 1968 when a subset of touring professionals broke away from the PGA of America.
Founded in 2021, LIV Golf was meant to problem males’s golf’s conventional energy construction, providing big assured contracts to a number of the greatest names within the sport.
LIV Golf, which options 54-hole occasions with no cuts as an alternative of the standard 72-hole format, lured big-name gamers away from rival circuits with huge sums of prize cash for each golfer.
Why was there controversy between the 2 leagues?
LIV Golf is run by former professional golfer Greg Norman and is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which critics have accused of being a car for the nation to attempt to enhance its popularity overseas.
Much of the backlash centres across the alleged involvement of the Saudi Arabian authorities in human rights violations, together with the homicide of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Last June, a number of former world No. 1’s or main champions introduced that they had been leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Lee Westwood had been a few of these marquee golfers to leap ship.
Many of those that accepted profitable signing bonuses to affix LIV cited their need to play fewer occasions and spend extra time with their households. Koepka and Johnson’s signing bonuses had been reported to be within the US$150 million vary.
The PGA Tour lashed out. It banned gamers who participated in LIV occasions. The tour raised prize cash at elite occasions to US$20 million – the identical purse for LIV’s particular person competitors.
Dustin Johnson hits from the third tee through the second spherical of the LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club, Oct. 29, 2022, in Doral, Fla.
Lynne Sladky/AP file picture
LIV defectors Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau had been amongst 11 gamers who filed an antitrust lawsuit towards the PGA Tour final August. LIV joined as plaintiffs, and the PGA Tour countersued.
“These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan mentioned in a memo to his membership final June. “But they can’t demand the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform as you.”
Monahan struck a unique tone on Tuesday.
“As time went on, circumstances changed. I don’t think it was right or sustainable to have this tension in our sport,” he mentioned in a convention name after a gathering with gamers.
“I recognize everything I’ve said in the past. I recognize people will call me a hypocrite.”
“Any time I’ve said anything, I’ve said it with the information I had, and I said it with someone trying to compete with our tour and our players.”
How will the merger work?
As a part of the deal merging the PGA Tour, European Tour and LIV, all sides are dropping all lawsuits instantly.
A deal value was not introduced, however a brand new firm will probably be created with the PGA Tour as the bulk proprietor.
The new firm, nonetheless, will function for revenue and Saudi Arabia’s PIF will take a big minority stake within the mixed entity.
The actual stake will rely upon how a lot it would make investments – an quantity anticipated to be within the billions. PGA Tour and PIF will negotiate how a lot cash the brand new firm ought to begin off with.
Regulators and politicians may attempt to torpedo the deal. The U.S. Department of Justice had already been trying on the dispute between the PGA Tour and LIV as a part of a broad antitrust probe into skilled golf.
The Committee on Foreign Investment within the United States, which evaluations offers for potential nationwide safety dangers, might scrutinize the transaction given PIF’s involvement. Some U.S. lawmakers have mentioned they’re against the deal due to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights file.
However, Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell mentioned the deal was not a “governmental concern.”
Monahan had mentioned {that a} deal between the PGA Tour and PIF would by no means occur out of respect for the victims of 9/11. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001, had been from Saudi Arabia. However, the dominion has lengthy denied a task within the assaults, which killed almost 3,000 folks.
Advocacy teams 9/11 Families United and Democracy for the Arab World Now, which was based by Khashoggi, had been among the many organizations that denounced the deal.
Rory McIlroy, who has been essentially the most outspoken defender of the PGA Tour, mentioned he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” when requested in regards to the merger.
“You’ve galvanized everyone against something and that thing that you galvanized everyone against you’ve now partnered with,” he mentioned Wednesday.
“So, yeah, of course I understand (the upset). It is hypocritical. It sounds hypocritical.
“Whether you like it or not, the PIF and the Saudis want to spend money in the game of golf. They want to do this and they weren’t going to stop. So how can we get that money into the game, but use it the right way?”
Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the eleventh gap through the Canadian Open Pro-Am in Toronto on June 7, 2023.
Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Mickelson, whose public picture took successful in February 2022 when the creator of an unauthorized biography on him launched excerpts wherein he mentioned he was keen to look previous Saudi Arabia’s human rights file to realize leverage with the PGA Tour, tweeted “awesome day today” on Tuesday.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump, who owns three programs which are a part of LIV Golf’s 14-event schedule in 2023, celebrated the deal in a Truth social put up utilizing all caps.
“Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. Congrats to all!!!,” he wrote.
(From left to proper) Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, former U.S. president Donald Trump, Greg Norman, LIV Golf CEO and Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of Golf Saudi, watch the beginning of the second spherical of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf event in Bedminster, N.J., July 30, 2022.
Seth Wenig/ap
Many questions nonetheless dangle within the air, and it’s unclear if golfers who left for LIV will be capable of rejoin the PGA Tour.
“There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour, started litigation against it,” McIlroy mentioned.
“We can’t just welcome them back in. That’s not going to happen.”
In the meantime, McIlroy will attempt to seize his third straight Canadian Open championship, which is happening on the Oakdale Golf and Country Club in North York, Ont., till Sunday.
— with information from The Associated Press and Reuters
