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Brooks Koepka had moved to LIV Golf
Photo: Hunter Martin / AP
"After two years of interruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love," PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a joint press release. PGA Tour and the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour, editor's note) will merge with the breakaway Saudi Arabian LIV Golf. The aim is to create a company that will unify professional golf worldwide.
As part of the agreement, both sides will drop all lawsuits against each other affecting LIV Golf with immediate effect.
"They went their way, we went ours, and after a lot of introspection, you realize that all this tension in the game is not a good thing," Monahan said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
"We have a responsibility to our tour and the game, and we felt the time was right to have that conversation."
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, will join the board of directors of the PGA Tour, which continues to host its tournaments. Al-Rumayyan will serve as chairman of the new commercial group, while Monahan will serve as CEO and the PGA Tour will hold a majority stake in the new company. Monahan said the decision had been made over the past seven weeks.
It remains to be seen how players like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, who have defected to Saudi-funded LIV Golf for nine-figure bonuses, will be able to return to the PGA Tour after this year. It was also unclear what form the LIV Golf League would take in 2024.
mfu/AP