PGA Tour, LIV Golf & DP World Tour merger: Players 'shocked and angry'

1 year ago 27

Charl Schwartzel with Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Greg Norman aft winning the inaugural LIV Golf lawsuit successful June 2022

Professional golfers person expressed their choler astatine the PGA and DP World Tour announcing a merger with LIV Golf.

Barstool Sport's Dan Rapaport told BBC Radio 5 Live helium spoke to respective players instantly aft the woody with the rival circuit was announced.

"The archetypal absorption was daze and past it turned to anger," helium said.

"There are a batch of players who turned down a batch of wealth who are wondering 'what's the deal?'"

The Telegraph's play analogous Jamie Corrigan added that the woody "has been conducted successful unthinkable secrecy".

"It's been a full messiness and they volition contiguous it arsenic they've made the warring fairways peaceful again, but they've inactive got a agelong mode to run," helium said.

"Forget astir increasing the crippled and sportswashing, each this comes down to wealth and power."

'Just much grounds of the onward march of Saudi sportswashing'

The PGA Tour has been defending its presumption since speech of a rival circuit began, and determination was litigation pending with breakaway circuit LIV.

But they person agreed to harvester their commercialized operations and rights into a caller yet to beryllium named for-profit company, of which PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan volition beryllium main executive.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, politician of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) which backs LIV, volition beryllium president of the caller entity and was interviewed with Monahan connected Tuesday.

BBC play analogous Iain Carter said: "For the past year, Jay Monahan has not been prepared to accidental the words 'LIV' oregon 'Saudi Arabia', he's been arsenic disparaging arsenic helium perchance could be.

"Now they're sitting unneurotic connected a sofa having thrashed retired this deal. Have LIV bought satellite play today?"

Amnesty says the merger is further grounds of Saudi efforts to gully attraction distant from the country's quality rights record.

"While this whitethorn person taken immoderate play fans and commentators by surprise, it's truly conscionable much grounds of the onward march of Saudi sportswashing," said Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK's caput of precedence campaigns and individuals astatine risk.

"It's been wide for immoderate clip that Saudi Arabia was prepared to usage immense amounts of wealth to musculus its mode into top-tier play - conscionable portion of a wider effort to go a large sporting powerfulness and to effort to distract attraction from the country's atrocious quality rights record.

"Away from the glamour of the play courses and the TV cameras there's been mounting repression successful Saudi Arabia, with authorities critics and quality rights activists arrested, a spate of unfair trials, and with the decease punishment wide used, including arsenic a instrumentality of governmental repression.

"The satellite of play whitethorn beryllium astir to enactment 1 of its astir high-profile commercialized battles down it, but it's captious that this latest surge successful Saudi sportswashing isn't allowed to obscure the progressively dire quality rights concern successful Saudi Arabia."

Speaking to the BBC, DP World Tour main enforcement Keith Pelley said: "This has ne'er been astir sportswashing."

Jay Monahan (L) and DP World Tour brag Keith Pelley

'One of the saddest days successful play history' - however play reacted

Those players who accepted lucrative deals to articulation LIV person taken Tuesday's quality better, specified arsenic five-time large victor Brooks Koepka.

Referring to ex-PGA Tour subordinate and play expert Brandel Chamblee, who has been 1 of LIV's astir outspoken critics, Koepka said connected societal media: "Welfare Check connected Chamblee."

Speaking connected the Golf Channel, Chamblee responded by saying: "I was wholly shocked. After the daze benignant of ebbed away, I was hugely disappointed.

"I deliberation it is 1 of the saddest days successful the past of nonrecreational golf. I bash judge that the governing bodies, the nonrecreational entities, person sacrificed their principles for profits.

"Will the crippled of play inactive person its integrity? This is astir the future, the bequest of golf. This is truthful overmuch bigger than immoderate of us."

Six-time large victor Phil Mickelson, 1 of the archetypal large names to power from the PGA Tour to LIV, added: "Awesome time today."

However, with much than a hint of sarcasm, two-time large victor Collin Morikawa and chap American Wesley Bryan said they "love uncovering retired connected Twitter".

Bryan added: "This is amazing. Y'all should beryllium ashamed and person a batch of questions to answer. I consciousness betrayed, and volition not not beryllium capable to spot anyone wrong the firm operation of the PGA Tour for a precise agelong time."

Canada's Mackenzie Hughes said: "Nothing similar uncovering retired done Twitter that we're merging with a circuit that we said we'd ne'er bash that with."

American Michael Kim added: "The hellhole is going on? Very funny however galore radical knew this woody was happening. About 5-7 people? Player tally organisation right?"

Compatriot Dylan Wu said: "Tell maine wherefore Jay Monahan fundamentally got a promotion to CEO of each play successful the satellite by going backmost connected everything helium said the past 2 years. The hypocrisy. Wish play worked similar that. I conjecture wealth ever wins."

Former BMW PGA Championship victor Ben An said: "I'm guessing the LIV teams were struggling to get sponsors and PGA Tour couldn't crook down the money. Win-win for some tours but it's a large suffer for who defended the circuit for past 2 years."

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