Twitter Roasts PGA and LIV Merger: ‘Imagine Being a PGA Player Who Turned LIV Down for Nothing’
It’s official: the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are merging into a new as-yet-to-be-named company, ending two years of tensions
Ivy Griffith
It’s official: the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are merging into a new as-yet-to-be-named company, ending two years of tensions and grandstanding.
And Twitter is having a field day with the news.
After all, several big-name players were lured away from PGA to the tune of millions of dollars. Others refused to desert the PGA, standing their ground – and missing out on millions.
Now, the companies are merging. Which means that the LIV players come out on top having earned millions to switch, and now they can play for the PGA again.
But PGA players? They get nothing.
Twitter seems to find it a mix of both hilarious and disgusting.
Sports and investment guru Joe Pompliano wrote, “The PGA Tour convinced many of its players that taking Saudi money from LIV Golf was immoral.
But now the PGA Tour is merging with LIV, creating a new entity with Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund as the only outside investor.
The players that turned down the money must be PISSED.”
The PGA Tour convinced many of its players that taking Saudi money from LIV Golf was immoral.
But now the PGA Tour is merging with LIV, creating a new entity with Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund as the only outside investor.
The players that turned down the money must be PISSED.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 6, 2023
And Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy weighed in, writing, “What the f–k? The PGA caved fast
Imagine being a PGA member who turned down Liv for basically no reason now?
I guess the commish of PGA Jay Monahan is no longer morally opposed to LIV because of 9/11 since they are merging now. Funny how that works.”
I bet they pay every PGA player who turned down a real offer what they would have received anyway. They have unlimited money and how else do you not alienate your best players?
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 6, 2023
He later added, “Also I could give a s–t less they are merging. Getting all the best golfers back in the same tournaments is great for golf and the fans. It’s just hilarious all the bulls–t that was being spewed about how morally superior the PGA was only to have them merge almost instantly.”
And Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel chimed in, “I’m old enough to remember when the PGA Tour tried to claim the moral high road on LIV and the Saudis.”
It has been announced that the new golf organization created by the two company’s merger will be Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a cohort of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
From @TheAthleticFC: Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be chairman of the new golf organization following PGA and LIV’s agreement to merge.
This is the story of golf’s most powerful man — and his ties with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. https://t.co/JFnEcnkfHH pic.twitter.com/uq9v90vvNR
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 6, 2023
The whole merger is insane from the POV of fans and sports experts.
PGA commissioner Monahan maintained that the LIV Golf tour was morally bereft and their close ties to the Saudis was a thumb in the eye of survivors of 9/11.
The fact that they have now merged begs the question: do Monahan’s principles have a price point?
The answer is apparently yes.
It’s a rocky road that will require some tricky navigating. Now, the PGA has to explain to their players why they missed out on millions of dollars in signing bonuses to take the moral high ground, but now find themselves allying with the very people they were told they would be morally bankrupt in aligning with.
LIV players, on the other hand, get to sit pretty and enjoy their savvy business choices.
All in all, it’s a massive shakeup that creates more questions than answers.