FILE PHOTO: A view shows the logo of PGA Tour during the Canadian Open’s Championship Pro-Am after news was released of a new partnership between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Nick Lachance/File Photo
In an unsurprising turn of events, the British tabloid report of a finalized merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf may have been premature.
The Sun reported Saturday that the long-awaited merger between the rival golf circuits was complete and, per the headline, "Golf's civil war OVER."
But on Tuesday, Front Office Sports cited industry sources in reporting that the tabloid had jumped the gun.
Several details remain to be ironed out, including the major issue of navigating antitrust concerns in the United States.
There is "heavy internal pressure" to finalize the merger before the end of 2024 in the interest of making future scheduling easier, Front Office Sports reported. The PGA Tour has already released its 2025 schedule, and LIV has put out four tournament dates for 2025 so far.
The shock merger between the PGA Tour and LIV was announced in early June 2023, with a self-imposed Dec. 31, 2023, deadline to finalize the "framework agreement." That deadline came and went, and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan continues to meet and play golf with Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan as the 18-month mark approaches.
The Sun's tantalizing report claimed that PIF would receive an 11 percent share in the PGA Tour; that LIV's 14 annual team events would be brought under the PGA umbrella; and that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy "played key roles in the peace talks."
--Field Level Media
