After two years of sniping, lawsuits and ill will, the major men’s golf tours agreed to merge on Tuesday.
The PGA Tour, which runs golf in North America; the PGA European Tour, which is known as the DP World Tour and holds events in much of the rest of the world; and the upstart LIV Tour agreed to merge their operations.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which spent billions to launch the LIV Tour, will invest in the new company, and the governor of that fund will become its chairman.
The LIV Tour started last year and offered big-name players from the other tours huge sums to jump ship.
Many players and officials of the PGA Tour were sharply critical of LIV, both for dividing the golf world and for associating with the Saudi government and its poor human rights record.
Persons:
Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, LIV, ”
Organizations:
PGA European, LIV, PGA
Locations:
North America, Saudi