'Saudi Sportswashing': PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour agree shock merger

Critics have called the merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf an attempt at 'sportswashing' from Saudi Arabia, Sports Editor Steve Scott reports

The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf have agreed to merge commercial operations under common ownership, the PGA Tour has announced.

The shock announcement has described as “just more evidence of the onward march of Saudi sportswashing” by Amnesty International.

Shockwaves were sent across the sport due to the heavy level of influence of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) in the new venture.

PIF will initially be the exclusive investor in the new entity and have the right of first refusal on any capital to be invested. Amnesty said this was the latest effort by to draw attention away from the country’s human rights record.

“While this may have taken some golf fans and commentators by surprise, it’s really just more evidence of the onward march of Saudi sportswashing,” Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK’s head of priority campaigns and individuals at risk said.

“It’s been clear for some time that Saudi Arabia was prepared to use vast amounts of money to muscle its way into top-tier golf – just part of a wider effort to become a major sporting power and to try to distract attention from the country’s atrocious human rights record."

He added: “Away from the glamour of the golf courses and the TV cameras there’s been mounting repression in Saudi Arabia, with government critics and human rights activists arrested, a spate of unfair trials, and with the death penalty widely used, including as a tool of political repression.

“The world of golf may be about to put one of its most high-profile commercial battles behind it, but it’s vital that this latest surge in Saudi sportswashing isn’t allowed to obscure the increasingly dire human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.”

The announcement will lead to a “mutually-agreed” end to all pending litigation between the various organisations. The new entity has not been named.

An anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour was originally filed last August by 11 golfers before being taken over by LIV Golf. It was due to be heard in 2024.

In April, the DP World Tour won its legal battle against 12 LIV players who committed “serious breaches” of the Tour’s code of behaviour by playing in LIV Golf events without permission.

The subsequent increased fines and suspensions prompted Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson to resign their memberships and become ineligible for the Ryder Cup.

Those players could now return to the fold, with the Tours pledging to establish a “fair and objective process” for players to re-apply for membership after the end of this season.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said: “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.

“This transformational partnership recognises the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV – including the team golf concept – to create an organisation that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans.”

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, will join the board of the PGA Tour, which continues to operates its tournaments. Al-Rumayyan will be chairman of the new commercial group, with Monahan as the CEO and the PGA Tour having a majority stake in the new venture.

Monahan said the decision came together over the last seven weeks.

The reaction has been mixed from players with Phil Mickelson, who took a break from the game in the wake of his explosive comments about the Saudis and their “horrible record on human rights” before LIV Golf was launched, was in celebratory mood, writing on Twitter: “Awesome day today”. However the news went down less well with some of his fellow professionals, who appeared blindsided by the announcement.

One American player, Wesley Bryan, replied to the PGA Tour tweet confirming the merger by writing: “Love finding out info on Twitter. This is amazing. Y’all should be ashamed and have a lot of questions to answer.

“I feel betrayed, and will not not be able to trust anyone within the corporate structure of the PGA TOUR for a very long time.”

Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa wrote on social media: “I love finding out morning news on Twitter.”

Former BMW PGA Championship winner Ben An wrote on Twitter: “I’m guessing the liv teams were struggling to get sponsors and pga tour couldn’t turn down the money. Win-win for both tours but it’s a big lose for who defended the tour for last two years."

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