The CEO of The R&A has said he is pleased with the shock merger of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf.
Martin Slumbers says the merger represents a “huge step forward”.
The surprise announcement comes after a year of unprecedented disruption in the men’s game following the launch of LIV.
It also means pending litigation between the tours will be halted and they will move forward as part of the same enterprise.
“We are pleased that an agreement has been reached which will help men’s professional golf move forward in a collaborative, constructive and innovative fashion. We care deeply about golf’s future and are committed to ensuring that the sport continues to thrive for many years to come. This agreement represents a huge step toward achieving that goal for golf and we look forward to working with the new entity for the benefit of the sport globally,” he said.
“This is a historic day for the game,” added Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, golf’s leading circuit.
An agreement has been signed that will combine the PGA Tour and LIV’s commercial operations and rights into a new, yet to be named for-profit company.
The agreement includes the DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour.
The emergence of the LIV circuit fractured men’s professional golf over the last year, with several top players lured by its huge prize funds and no-cut events, which include a team format.
LIV Golf is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), an entity controlled by the Saudi crown prince and which has been embroiled in anti-trust lawsuits with the PGA Tour over the last year.
“This is a momentous day – to partner in this new entity is energising and exciting,” said DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.
Monahan, his counterpart on the PGA Tour, confirmed that the team element to LIV’s format will remain in some form going forward.
The board of the new commercial entity will include Yasir Al-Rumayyan as chairman and Monahan as chief executive. Al-Rumayya is also the chairman of Premier League club Newcastle United.
“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,” Monahan added.
“I applaud Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights. This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better.”
A joint press release added that all parties will work in the months to come to finalise terms of the agreement.
Al-Rumayyan said: “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.
“There is no question that the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf. We believe there are opportunities for the game to evolve while also maintaining its storied history and tradition.”
The latest event in LIV’s 2023 season was played at Donald Trump’s course in Sterling, Virginia.
The former US president wrote on social media: “Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. Congrats to all.”
PlayMoreGolf CEO Alastair Sinclair said: “PlayMoreGolf’s mission is to grow the game by making golf more accessible to people across our communities and that is why we are delighted that a truce has finally been reached in the conflict between LIV and the PGA.
“Unfortunately, there’s bound to be some short-term pain as it will take a while for wounds created by this rift among the world’s top golfers to heal but overall there will be long-term gains for the sport as a whole.
“Now we can again look forward to the game’s elite players going head-to-head at tournaments and that will inspire people across our communities and future generations of golfers to pick up a club and head to their local golf course.
“Golf is moving with the times with new tournament models becoming mainstream, just like our game-changing, point-based membership model is becoming increasingly mainstream.”
“This is a stunning development that has taken the golf world by complete surprise. The PGA and DP World Tours were sworn enemies of the LIV circuit, which had poached some of their best players,” said BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter.
“They viewed Greg Norman’s breakaway tour as an existential threat and entered into bitter and expensive legal action. But this was becoming increasingly uncomfortable for LIV’s Saudi Arabian backers, who faced the prospect of being interrogated under oath during the discovery process.
“The PGA Tour were also looking at huge costs to finance a string of $20m (£16.1m) tournaments introduced to counter their new opposition and had already dipped into their reserves.
“For both sides there was a significant peace dividend in a sport that could ill afford to be split in the first place. It is an extraordinary climbdown for the PGA and DP World Tours to acknowledge LIV as being “positively transformative for golf”.
“Nevertheless, this deal appears to signal Saudi Arabia’s massive wealth as a unifying force for the men’s professional game. That is not likely to sit easily with critics who have regarded the PIF’s involvement with LIV as nothing more than sportswashing for a kingdom whose human rights record is often questioned.
“How this will transform the game remains to be seen, but all sides will be happy the threat of legal action has gone away. LIV players also now have a pathway back into a more unified game.”
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