After a clash that had been going on for about a year, in and out of court, the two professional golf circuits LIV Golf and PGA Tour, the most important and prestigious in the world, they will join in one entity. It was an announcement that surprised American sports experts and commentators, because since its foundation LIV Golf, financed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, had strongly disturbed the PGA Tour, the organization that brings together the main US tournaments and which together with the European Tour historically represents the largest recognized association of professional golf.
“Going forward, fans can rest assured that we will collectively deliver on the promise we’ve always made to promote competition from professional golf’s best athletes, and that we will remain committed to securing and driving the future of the sport,” said Jay Monahan. , commissioner of the PGA Tour, who is expected to become managing director of the new circuit. Yasir al Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, should become its president. The agreement also includes another major circuit, the DP World Tour.
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LIV Golf is one of many billion-dollar investments by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in the world of sport, which have attracted widespread international criticism and accusations. As soon as it was founded, it had signed some of the most famous golfers in the world, such as Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, with contracts worth up to 150 million dollars, and this had infuriated the organization of the PGA Tour, which had threatened fines and suspensions for who had joined the rival circuit. A series of mutual lawsuits had followed, which are now expected to settle out of court following the merger deal.