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PGA and LIV Merger Deal Increases Saudi Arabia’s Influence in Golf

The partnership is a major victory for Saudi ambitions in sports, but the announcement split players. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan described his meeting with golfers late in the afternoon as “heated.”

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Alan Blinder

The alliance between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf ends a bitter fight in the sport.

The PGA Tour, the dominant force in men’s professional golf for generations, and LIV Golf, which made its debut just last year and is backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in Saudi money, will together form an industry powerhouse that is expected to transform the sport, executives announced Tuesday.

The rival circuits had spent the last year clashing in public, and the tentative agreement that emerged from secret negotiations blindsided virtually all of the world’s top players, agents and broadcasters. The deal would create a new company that would consolidate the PGA Tour’s prestige, television contracts and marketing muscle with Saudi money.

The new company came together so quickly that it does not yet even have a name and is referred to in the agreement documents simply as “NewCo.” It would be controlled by the PGA Tour but significantly financed by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund . The fund’s governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan, will be the new company’s chairman.

The deal, coming when Saudi Arabia is increasingly looking to assert itself on the world stage as something besides one of the world’s largest oil producers, has implications beyond sports. The Saudi money will give the new organization greater clout, but it comes with the troubling association of the kingdom’s human rights record, its treatment of women and accusations that it was responsible for the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a leading critic.

The agreement does not immediately amount to a Saudi takeover of professional golf, but it positions the nation’s top officials to have enormous sway over the game. It also represents an escalation in Saudi ambitions in sports, moving beyond its corporate sponsorship of Formula 1 racing and ownership of an English soccer team into a place where it can exert influence over the highest reaches of a global game.

“Everybody is in shock,” said Paul Azinger, the winner of the 1993 P.G.A. Championship and the lead golf analyst for NBC Sports. “The future of golf is forever different.”

Since LIV began play last year, it has used some of the richest contracts and prize money in the sport’s history to entice players away from the PGA Tour. Until Tuesday morning, the PGA Tour had been publicly uncompromising: LIV was a threat to the game and a glamorous way for Saudi Arabia to rehabilitate its reputation. The PGA Tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, had even avoided uttering LIV’s name in public.

But a series of springtime meetings in London, Venice and San Francisco led to a framework agreement that stunned the golf industry for its timing and scope. Monahan, who defended the decision as a sound business choice and said he had accepted that he would be accused of hypocrisy, met with PGA Tour players in Toronto on Tuesday in what he called an “intense” and “certainly heated” exchange.

The deal, though, proved right the predictions that there could eventually be an uneasy patching-up of the sport’s fractures. The PGA Tour’s board, which includes a handful of players like Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, must still approve the agreement, a process that could be tumultuous.

It was only a year ago this week that LIV Golf held its inaugural tournament, prompting the PGA Tour to suspend players who competed in it. But by the end of the year, even though the circuit was locked in an antitrust battle with the PGA Tour and its stars were confronting uncertain futures at the sport’s marquee competitions, LIV had some of the biggest names in golf on its payroll. Its players have included the major tournament champions Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith.

The players were familiar, but LIV’s 54-hole events — the name derives from the Roman numerals for that number — were jarring, with blaring music and golfers in shorts not facing the specter of being unceremoniously cut midway through. The PGA Tour, meanwhile, defended its 72-hole events, where low performers do not compete into the weekend, as rigorous athletic tests that adhered to the traditions of an ancient game.

The less-starchy LIV concept drew plenty of headlines, and the league won even greater attention because of its links to former President Donald J. Trump, who hosted LIV tournaments and emerged as one of its most enthusiastic boosters. The league, however, was still largely dependent on the largess of a wealth fund that had been warned that a rebel golf circuit was no certain financial bonanza. It stumbled to a television deal with the CW Network, and big corporate sponsorships were scarce.

The league accrued some athletic successes, even as its players faced the risk of eventual exclusion from golf’s major tournaments, which are run by organizations that are close to, but distinct from, the PGA Tour.

Last month, Koepka won the P.G.A. Championship , which was organized by the P.G.A. of America. Koepka, Mickelson and Patrick Reed were among the LIV players who fared especially well at the Masters Tournament, administered by Augusta National Golf Club, in early April.

Within weeks of the Masters, though, after a run of mutual overtures and months of bravado, PGA Tour and Saudi executives were convening in secret to see if there was a way toward some kind of coexistence, in part, Monahan suggested, because he did not think it was “right or sustainable to have this tension in our sport.” The result was an agreement that gives the tour the upper hand but is poised to make permanent Saudi Arabia’s influence over golf’s starry ranks.

Monahan, the tour’s commissioner, is in line to be the chief executive of the new company, which will include an executive committee stocked with tour loyalists. But al-Rumayyan's presence, as well as the promise that the wealth fund can play a pivotal role in how the company is ultimately funded, means that Saudi Arabia could do much to shape the sport’s future.

In a memorandum to players on Tuesday, Monahan insisted that his tour’s “history, legacy and pro-competitive model not only remains intact, but is supercharged for the future.”

That was hardly a consensus view. Mackenzie Hughes, a PGA Tour player, acidly noted on Twitter that there was “nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.” And Terry Strada, the chairwoman of 9/11 Families United, who had assailed the Saudi foray into golf because of misgivings about the kingdom after the 2001 terrorist attacks, said Monahan and the tour had “become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation.”

The tour and the wealth fund both had incentives to forge an agreement, besides the prospect of concluding a chaotic chapter marked by allegations of betrayal and greed.

LIV had faced setbacks in civil litigation against the PGA Tour that threatened to drag al-Rumayyan into sworn testimony and force the wealth fund to turn over documents that could have become public. The tour has been under scrutiny from Justice Department antitrust investigators , who had examined in recent months whether the tour’s tactics to counter LIV had undermined golf’s labor market.

The litigation between the tour and LIV will end under the terms of the agreement announced Tuesday. The fate of the antitrust inquiry was less clear — experts said the new arrangement would not automatically immunize the tour from potential legal trouble — but LIV’s standing as its leading cheerleader evaporated.

For this year, the world’s professional golfers are unlikely to see seismic changes in their schedules or playing formats, with LIV and the PGA Tour expected to hold competitions as planned. There may be far more consequential changes later, though, chiefly because the new PGA Tour-controlled company will determine whether and how LIV’s team-oriented format might be blended with the tour’s more familiar offerings.

LIV players are expected to have pathways to apply for reinstatement to the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, circuits from which some had resigned when faced with fines and suspensions, but they could face residual penalties for leaving in the first place. Through a spokeswoman, Greg Norman, the two-time major tournament champion who has been LIV’s commissioner, declined to be interviewed on Tuesday.

No matter what comes of the LIV brand or style, Tuesday’s announcement is a singular milestone in the Saudi quest to become a titan in global sports. With the deal, the kingdom can move, at least in golf, from a well-heeled disrupter to a seat of power at the establishment’s table.

Saudi officials have repeatedly denied that political or public relations motives undergird their eager pursuit of sports investments. Instead, they have framed the investments as necessary for shoring up the resource-rich kingdom’s finances and to enhance its standing on the world stage.

Beyond its imprint on golf , the wealth fund previously purchased Newcastle United, a potent English soccer team, and a company with close ties to the fund has eyed investments in cricket, tennis and e-sports. And Saudi Arabia has tried to become a host of major sporting events, from boxing matches to its pending bid to host the World Cup in 2030.

But when Saudi Arabia barged into golf last year, it was nearly unthinkable that al-Rumayyan would so swiftly become a formal ally of Monahan and the sport’s other power brokers.

“Anybody who thought about it logically would see that something was going to have to happen,” Adam Hadwin, a PGA Tour player, said on Tuesday. It was inconceivable, he suggested, that the world’s best players would only compete against each other at the four major tournaments, but an armistice “happening this quick and in this way is surprising.”

For much of the last year, LIV players have deflected questions about Saudi Arabia’s history on human rights and other matters that helped make the kingdom’s surge into golf an international flashpoint. They were, they often said, merely golfers and entertainers.

Until Tuesday, Monahan had tried to use the stain of Saudi Arabia to undercut the new league and its golfers.

“I would ask any player that has left, or any player that would ever consider leaving: Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?” he said last year.

On Tuesday, when Monahan declared that the leaders of golf’s factions had “realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart,” it was his tour’s players facing questions about lucrative connections to Riyadh.

“I’ve dedicated my entire life to being at golf’s highest level,” Hadwin, the tour player, said. “I’m not about to stop playing golf because the entity that I play for has joined forces with the Saudi government.”

Reporting was contributed by Andrew Das , Kevin Draper , Lauren Hirsch , Eric Lipton , Victor Mather , Ahmed Al Omran and Bill Pennington .

Kevin Draper

The PGA Tour commissioner acknowledges secrecy and hurdles on the deal.

Tuesday morning’s announcement from the PGA Tour hailed its deal to merge operations with LIV Golf as a “landmark agreement to unify the game” and end the contentious litigation between the competing golf tours.

But when Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, finally spoke to news reporters eight hours later, the agreement sounded far more tentative. He described his meeting with players about the agreement as “intense” and “certainly heated.” Monahan also acknowledged that most of the PGA Tour’s policy board — which is made up of five independent directors and five golfers — was kept in the dark about the tour’s negotiations with LIV over the last seven weeks.

He called the deal a “framework agreement” and said there were numerous issues that needed to be worked through before a “definitive agreement” was presented to the policy board to ratify, raising the possibility that it could be rejected and golf’s cold war could stretch on.

Among the issues that Monahan said were still unsettled included the future of LIV itself as an independent golf tour; the pathway for LIV players to rejoin the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour in Europe; whether PGA Tour players who declined to join LIV would somehow be financially compensated; and whether LIV players would have to forfeit some of their compensation.

“Ultimately, everything needs to be considered,” Monahan said.

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Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said that many members of the PGA Tour policy board — more or less its board of directors — were kept in the dark about the negotiations. The agreement reached with LIV is only a framework agreement; once there is a finalized agreement, the policy board, which includes players, will have to vote to approve it.

Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, says there is no definitive agreement on whether PGA Tour players will somehow be made whole for money they turned down when they declined to join LIV, or whether LIV players will somehow have to give up money to rejoin the PGA Tour. “Ultimately, everything needs to be considered,” Monahan said.

Monahan is being asked repeatedly about his past criticism of the morals of taking LIV and Saudi money. “I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,” the PGA Tour commissioner said. “Anytime I said anything, I said it based on the information I had at the moment, and based on someone trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change.”

The PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan on his just-completed meeting with players: “I would describe the meeting as intense. Certainly heated.”

More details about the merger, and how PGA Tour players feel about it, should be emerging soon. Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, is hosting a players meeting in Toronto at the site of this week’s RBC Open. After that, Monahan will take questions from the news media.

The talks of a merger began in secret meetings after the Masters in April.

For month after month, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were content to bludgeon one another in news conferences and court filings. But in the weeks after the Masters Tournament in early April, rival executives began a series of private meetings.

Convening first in London and then Venice and ultimately San Francisco, PGA Tour leaders met with representatives of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, including Yasir al-Rumayyan, the golf fiend who is the wealth fund’s governor. According to a person familiar with the discussions, who insisted on anonymity to describe private talks, the sides effectively reached an agreement around Memorial Day but kept word of it secret from even leading executives and players until Tuesday.

The nature of the agreement — for now — keeps the PGA Tour in control, thanks to a provision that allows it to have a majority of board seats in the new company that will house the tour and LIV Golf. The wealth fund will control a minority stake in the new company, but its exclusive right to invest in it going forward opens the door for Riyadh to grow its influence in the years ahead.

But in the interim, the fate of the LIV Golf league itself appears to rest most clearly with the PGA Tour and its allies, with the new company expected to undertake an extensive analysis of the LIV format to determine whether and how it can coexist with the long-dominant tour.

A group of 9/11 relatives called the PGA Tour’s planned merger with LIV a ‘betrayal.’

A group of relatives of people killed on Sept. 11 issued a blistering criticism of the planned merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series and the PGA Tour, calling the tour and its commissioner “paid Saudi shills” for agreeing to it.

Relatives of 9/11 victims have been vocal in their opposition to the Saudi-backed LIV series almost since its inception. Most of the hijackers of the planes used in the 2001 attacks were Saudi. The 9/11 families have saved some of their harshest criticisms for those who have taken part in LIV events and hosted its tournaments. The latter group includes former President Donald J. Trump and his family, who were urged last year to cancel an event at a Trump golf course in New Jersey.

On Tuesday, one group of relatives, called 9/11 Families United, declared that its members were “shocked and deeply offended” by the merger deal. In a statement, the group called it a “betrayal” by the PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan.

“The PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation,” said the 9/11 Families United chairman, Terry Strada.

Critics of Saudi Arabia frequently deride its investments in teams and leagues as “sportswashing” and say it is a thinly veiled effort to rehabilitate the kingdom’s reputation amid accusations that it has financed terrorism and murdered a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi .

Strada criticized Monahan for “co-opting” the 9/11 community last year in the PGA Tour’s initial and strident opposition to the Saudi-backed golf tour, only to cut a merger deal this week.

“Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour,” Strade wrote. “They do now — as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed.”

Members of Congress from both parties weighed in.

“So weird. PGA officials were in my office just months ago talking about how the Saudis’ human rights record should disqualify them from having a stake in a major American sport,” said Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat of Connecticut, in a message posted on Twitter . “I guess maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”

And Representative Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas, added : “In the end, it’s always about the money. Saudi Arabia just bought themselves a one-world golf government.”

During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for human rights abuses, most notably the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, who lived in Virginia and was a columnist for The Washington Post who wrote critically of the Saudi crown prince and the country’s government.

As one of his first foreign policy actions in office, Mr. Biden authorized the release of a U.S. intelligence report that said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing.

Mr. Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents while visiting Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018 to get documents for his upcoming wedding. He was strangled by Saudi agents and then dismembered.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken happened to be in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks this week with Saudi leaders and other Gulf state officials about the possibility of the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel. It wasn’t clear if the PGA-LIV merger would be a part of discussions.

An earlier version of this blog item incorrectly stated Chris Murphy’s position in Congress. He is a senator, not a representative.

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The deal sets up a structure combining nonprofit and for-profit entities.

The merger establishes an unusual structure for how golf will be governed going forward.

The PGA Tour, which is a nonprofit organization, will remain that way and retain oversight over the “sanctioning of events and administration of the competition and rules” for the tour, according to the release announcing the merger. Basically, the PGA Tour will still have full control over how its tournaments are played.

But all of the PGA Tour’s commercial businesses and rights — such as the rights to televise its tournaments, which garner hundreds of millions of dollars annually — will be owned by a new, as-of-yet unnamed for-profit entity. That entity will also own LIV Golf as well as the commercial and business rights of the PGA European Tour, known as the DP World Tour.

The board of directors for the new for-profit entity will be chaired by Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, who also oversees LIV. Three other members of the board’s executive committee will be current members of the PGA Tour’s board, and the tour will appoint the majority of the board and hold a majority voting interest.

With the PGA Tour controlling the for-profit holding company and remaining in charge of administering its own tournaments, it may seem as though the PGA Tour will forever remain the dominant voice in men’s professional golf. But that could change.

The Public Investment Fund will invest “billions,” according to al-Rumayyan, into the new for-profit entity, and it will also hold “the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that may be invested in the new entity, including into the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour,” according to the release.

If the Public Investment Fund invests more money — because the economy goes south and sponsors pull out of tournaments, for instance — in the for-profit entity, it will surely demand more board seats and greater voting rights, potentially tilting control of men’s professional golf toward Saudi Arabia.

The merger doesn’t end the U.S. antitrust inquiry into the PGA Tour.

What does this merger mean for the Department of Justice’s antitrust inquiry into the PGA Tour ? In short: Not much.

For about a year, cheered on by LIV Golf, the Justice Department has been investigating the tight-knit relationship between the PGA Tour and other powerful entities in golf, and whether there has been any collusion within the Official World Golf Rankings. A number of high-profile LIV players, like Phil Mickelson, have been interviewed in the inquiry, and lawyers representing the PGA Tour met with Justice Department officials in Washington as recently as last month.

But while Tuesday’s merger will end litigation between LIV and the PGA Tour, it will not necessarily change the Justice Department’s case. The department’s inquiry has looked into allegations of past conduct; if there was any illegal conduct, a merger does not prevent the PGA Tour from being punished for it.

“The announcement of a merger doesn’t forgive past sins,” said Bill Baer, who led the Justice Department’s antitrust division during the Obama administration.

In fact, the merger could cause the Justice Department to even more closely scrutinize the PGA Tour, for a separate but related reason.

The federal government, through the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, reviews over 1,000 mergers for approval each year. It is not yet clear which agency will lead the review of the PGA Tour and LIV’s proposed merger, but if it is the Justice Department, it will certainly scrutinize what looks to be on its face “a merger to monopoly, eliminating competition between these two competing professional golf organizations,” Baer said.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on the merger announcement.

Victor Mather

Here is what tour leaders and players are saying about the merger.

PGA Tour officials and LIV leaders hailed the announcement on Tuesday that their competing golf series would be joining forces, but players were split on the news. Here’s what they were saying:

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.” — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan , who is expected to be the chief executive of the new entity.

“There is no question that the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf. We believe there are opportunities for the game to evolve while also maintaining its storied history and tradition.” — The Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan , who will become chairman of the board of the merged tour.

“Awesome day today.” — Phil Mickelson , who left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.

“Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.” — Mackenzie Hughes , PGA Tour player.

“Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right?” — Michael Kim , PGA Tour player.

“This is one of the saddest days in the history of professional golf. I do believe that the governing bodies, the entities, the professional entities, have sacrificed their principles for profits.” — Brandel Chamblee , a Golf Channel analyst who has been sharply critical of the LIV Tour.

“Welfare check on Chamblee.” — LIV golfer Brooks Koepka , referring to Chamblee, who last week declared that “any yielding to or agreement with them is a deal with a murderous dictator.”

“Now that we’re all friends, is it too late for us to workshop some of these team names?” — Max Homa , PGA Tour player, referring to LIV teams like Crushers, Iron Heads and Majesticks.

While the merger is a tectonic shift for golf, nothing will change immediately in how fans watch golf. The PGA Tour, LIV Tour and DP World Tour are expected to proceed as scheduled and separately, at least through 2023. Afterward, it is unclear whether LIV will continue, and whether LIV golfers will apply to re-join the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.

Ahmed al-Omran

Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi state entity bankrolling LIV, the Public Investment Fund, said the agreement was reached after he held talks with PGA Tour officials in London. “The way we’re doing our partnership, it’s gonna be really big in many senses,” he said during an appearance on CNBC.

“We will be investing in the game of golf and doing many new things that I think will have better engagement from the players, the fans, the broadcasters, the sponsors, everyone else,” Al-Rumayyan said. He added that the PIF would invest “billions of dollars” into the sport without giving a specific timeline. “Whatever it takes,” he said.

Eric Lipton

Trump praises the PGA and LIV golf merger.

The Trump family, which has been the host of LIV tournaments in the United States and a big booster of the series’ efforts to break away from the PGA Tour, expects to continue to see tournaments played at its golf courses once the merger is complete.

“This merger is a wonderful thing for the game of golf,” Eric Trump said in an interview on Tuesday. “I truly believe that.”

His father, Donald J. Trump, also praised the deal. On Truth Social, the former president’s social media platform and personal megaphone, he wrote: “Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf.”

The LIV series has been a boon for the Trump family, which lost major tournaments after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the capitol, including the one of golf’s four majors, the 2022 P.G.A. Championship. That tournament had been scheduled to be played at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, but its organizer, the P.G.A. of America, stripped the club of the hosting rights days after the capitol attack.

Last July, just before the first LIV tournament was played at Trump National Bedminster, Mr. Trump predicted that the series would ultimately merge, and he suggested that players that stayed loyal to the PGA Tour were making a financial mistake.

“All of those that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you will get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social in July 2022 . “If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.”

LIV has tournaments scheduled this year at Trump-owned golf courses in Florida and New Jersey, and it just completed a tournament at a Trump course in Virginia. Negotiations are underway for more potential tournaments at Trump-owned facilities next year, though it is now unclear if the series will continue in its current format.

When asked if the Trump family had played a role in urging the PGA and LIV groups to merge, Eric Trump on Tuesday declined to comment. But he did say that the family has close friends developed over many years in the golf world, including those associated with the PGA and LIV groups.

Ahmed Al Omran

reporting from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The merger is seen as a victory for Saudi Arabia.

The deal to merge the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the rival league financed by billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, was seen as a victory for Saudi Arabia on multiple levels.

The merger marked the greatest success to date of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a player in global sports. From the outset, its billion-dollar play for control of golf seemed like nothing less than an attempt to seize control of an entire sport.

Now, by merging with the PGA Tour, the oil-rich kingdom has gained a foothold that guarantees it outsize influence in the game’s future. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi state entity bankrolling LIV, the Public Investment Fund, will become chairman of the new golf organization. The sovereign wealth fund will have right of first refusal on new investments in the merged tour, according to the statement announcing the merger .

The rival tours had clashed for months in litigation that will now draw to a close, so the deal will protect Mr. Al-Rumayyan, a golf aficionado, from the prospect of being deposed and scrutinized in American courtrooms. He also serves as chairman of Aramco, the Saudi state oil company, which has been a major sponsor of Formula 1 racing.

The deal could also lend legitimacy to the kingdom’s entry as a major player in global sports in the form of a serious partner and not just a well-funded disrupter.

Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of using its spending power in sports to distract from its poor human rights record, but Saudi officials have repeatedly rejected these allegations.

At the same time, this deal could serve as a blueprint for future moves as the kingdom grows its ambitions to further expand its influence and reach in sports and entertainment. ‌‌

By establishing a start-up golf tour that rose rapidly to become enough of a threat for the PGA Tour and bring them to the negotiation table, Saudi Arabia could see potential to do the same in other arenas. Under the terms of the deal, the Public Investment Fund holds veto power on bringing any new investors, giving themselves insurance from any possible dilution of their power in the new arrangement.

The sovereign wealth fund has already managed to achieve a quick return for their investment in Newcastle United as the English soccer club qualified for the UEFA Champions League merely 18 months after it was purchased.

The announcement of the merger with the PGA Tour comes less than one year since LIV’s first event in June 2022 .

In addition to soccer and golf, Saudi Arabia is eyeing investments in cricket, tennis and e-sports via Savvy Games Group, which is backed by the sovereign wealth fund. The group plans to invest $37.8 billion to make Saudi Arabia a global hub for gaming.

The kingdom has also served as host to major sports events including Formula 1 races, major boxing matches and WWE as part of plans to diversify its economy away from heavy reliance on oil.

Saudi Arabia is making a major push in soccer, too.

Golf is not the only sport where Saudi Arabia is looking to increase its influence: It is also making a major play in soccer.

Its most prominent investment to date was its purchase last year of the English Premier League team Newcastle United, a deal that gave the kingdom, through its huge Public Investment Fund, a foothold in the world’s richest soccer competition. But Saudi Arabia is also bidding to host soccer’s World Cup in 2030, and this week the country’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, announced that the PIF would invest more than $1 billion in the country’s domestic league in hopes of making it one of the 10 best leagues in the world.

As Tariq Panja and Ahmed Al Omran reported in The Times last week, the plan is focused on attracting more than a dozen of the world’s best players to the Saudi league by offering them some of the richest deals in sports history. Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time world player of the year, moved to Saudi Arabia in January, and reports of nine-figure offers to others — including Lionel Messi — are rampant. The French striker Karim Benzema accepted one this week : He will join the Jeddah-based club Al-Ittihad in a multiyear deal that will make him one of the world’s best-paid players.

Similar in ambition to the Saudi-financed LIV series in golf, the kingdom’s plan for soccer involves the PIF. This week it took a controlling stake in four of the Saudi league’s biggest clubs in what appears to be a centralized effort — supported at the highest levels of the Saudi state — to turn the country’s domestic league, a footnote on the global soccer stage, into a destination for top talent.

The basics of the sweeping golf merger.

After two years of sniping, lawsuits and ill will, the major men’s golf tours agreed to merge on Tuesday. The blockbuster announcement came as a surprise given the fierce competition and legal action among the tours. Here’s what we know, and don’t know.

What happened 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.

All the lawsuits among the tours will be ended as part of the deal.

How did we get here?

The LIV Tour started last year and offered big-name players from the other tours huge sums to jump ship. Many did, notably Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith. Some veterans like Phil Mickelson also joined. Those players were suspended from the PGA Tour as a result.

Others, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, did not take reported offers. 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.

How will things change?

There is a lot we don’t know at this point. The LIV Tour had team events as a focus of its model, and in its statement, the PGA Tour mentioned that the tours planned to “grow team golf going forward.”

But there are many unknowns. Will the tours continue to operate separately? The statement referred only to “a cohesive schedule of events.”

Will the enormous disparity between the LIV purses and the purses on the other tours remain? Will LIV continue to hold 54-hole, three-day tournaments with shotgun starts and no cuts, while the other tours maintain their traditional four-day formats?

The PGA Tour did say that the tours would develop a process for LIV players who want to reapply for membership with the two older tours after the 2023 season.

It is hard to overstate how surprising this news is. Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour and an architect of the merger, once laid out the case against the Saudi-backed LIV in stark moral terms. “I would ask any player that has left, or any player that would ever consider leaving, have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour,” Monahan said last year.

In a “privileged and confidential” memorandum to PGA Tour players on Tuesday, Commissioner Jay Monahan said the Saudi wealth fund will hold a minority stake in the new, for-profit company that will encompass the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour, as the European Tour is now marketed. Monahan is going to meet with players later Tuesday at a PGA Tour event in Toronto.

At last year’s U.S. Open, which came right after the first LIV competition near London, the mood was tense. Next week’s U.S. Open, scheduled to be played in Los Angeles, is virtually certain to carry a different vibe.

It is safe to assume that former PGA Tour players who left for LIV will ultimately be welcomed back into the fold. In their joint statement on Tuesday, the tour and the wealth fund said they expected to develop “a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership” with the PGA Tour. Among the big names who joined LIV: Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith.

The agreement between Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and its erstwhile rivals is a watershed in global sports. About a year after LIV Golf tore onto the scene, it has prompted the wholesale reshuffling of a sport more hidebound than most. And the wealth fund has shown immense interest in other sports, including soccer and Formula 1 racing.

Here is the latest on the PGA-LIV Golf deal.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the insurgent league bankrolled by billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, said on Tuesday that they had agreed to a merger, ending a bitter and costly fight for supremacy of men’s professional golf that had divided top players, everyday fans and corporate sponsors.

The merger represented the most stunning success to date of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a player in global sports. Yet unlike its purchase of a Premier League soccer team or its sponsorship of events as diverse as boxing cards and Formula 1 auto races, its billion-dollar play for control of golf seemed from the start like nothing less than an attempt to seize control of an entire sport — one that in the United States has occupied a rarefied place in the sports firmament for more than a century.

LIV Golf had sparked a crisis for the PGA Tour , which has scrambled to reinvent its economic model as it has watched some of its biggest stars switch circuits. But LIV itself has also been a target of fierce criticism, immense skepticism and bitter litigation. Although much about the circuit’s operations remains unclear — many documents that would reveal details are under court seal — some information about its structure and its operations has emerged in legal filings, interviews, business records and internal documents reviewed by The New York Times. And some LIV critics contend that the sovereign wealth fund is using sports to distract from Saudi Arabia’s record of human rights abuses.

Now, by merging with the PGA Tour, LIV Golf has gained a foothold that guarantees it outsize influence in the game’s future after a long struggle to break through, especially in the United States, where the PGA Tour has long dominated men’s professional golf. The governor of the Saudi state entity bankrolling LIV, the Public Investment Fund, will become chairman of the new golf organization, which was created so quickly that it was announced before it even had a name.

Here are a few other notable parts of the deal:

The Public Investment Fund also will have right of first refusal on new investments in the merged tour, according to the statement announcing the merger . That leaves open the possibility for Saudi Arabia to take more ownership of the sport in the future should the tour need to raise more capital.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the wealth fund and the PGA Tour said the former rivals would “implement a plan to grow these combined commercial businesses, drive greater fan engagement and accelerate growth initiatives already underway.”

Under the terms of the tentative agreement, the Public Investment Fund will at first be the exclusive investor in the blended operation, along with the established tours, which includes the DP World Tour, and LIV. Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, is expected to be the new group’s chief executive, with Yasir al-Rumayyan, the wealth fund’s governor, installed as its chairman.

The Trump family, an early and eager partner of the Saudi-backed series, took a victory lap after the merger was announced.

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Pro golfers react to shocking pga tour - liv golf merger, share this article.

WHOAAAAAAAAAAA!

It’s a wild day in the golf world. Because, seemingly out of nowhere, after months of fighting publicly and in court, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are … merging.

Along with the DP World Tour, the deal announced on Tuesday sent shockwaves through the golf world, including with players, many of whom didn’t have a clue this was happening.

What does it all mean for them? What does it mean for the future of professional golf? Those questions will be answered down the road. For right now, all we know is there’s an agreement, and all that fighting between players and tours is done.

Here’s the reaction from pros on Twitter:

Welfare Check on Chamblee — Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) June 6, 2023

I’ve grown up being a fan of the 4 Aces. Maybe one day I get to play for them on the PGA Tour! — Joel Dahmen (@Joel_Dahmen) June 6, 2023

I love finding out morning news on Twitter — Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) June 6, 2023

Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right? 🤷🏻‍♂️ — Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) June 6, 2023

The golf world right now.. pic.twitter.com/RRtdXFbYNJ — Smylie Kaufman (@SmylieKaufman10) June 6, 2023

Awesome day today 😊 https://t.co/qUwVJiydym — Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) June 6, 2023

🤔 https://t.co/9Hx4rGZSrI — Smylie Kaufman (@SmylieKaufman10) June 6, 2023

Reaction from Sahith Theegala. Players just in absolute shock. pic.twitter.com/E8rCLvOtCi — Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) June 6, 2023

Was having quite the nice practice session this morning too pic.twitter.com/qWBKuM2yHO — Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 6, 2023

https://t.co/ON6E91L3GE pic.twitter.com/6zGxWZ1orE — max homa (@maxhoma23) June 6, 2023

Time to get on the bush hog — Harold Varner III (@HV3_Golf) June 6, 2023

pic.twitter.com/dndiYfJ12u — Tyrrell Hatton (@TyrrellHatton) June 6, 2023

Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with. — Mackenzie Hughes (@MacHughesGolf) June 6, 2023

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Phil Mickelson, Twitter users get heated over PGA Tour, LIV Golf

Phil Mickelson hits his tee shot on Thursday on the 14th hole at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

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Phil Mickelson, after his first round at the Saudi International on Thursday, was involved in a heated and, at one point, insensitive conversation on Twitter over a comment involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Mickelson , the six-time major champion who has been one of the faces of nearly year-old, Saudi-backed LIV , first replied to a comment suggesting LIV play a team event with the PGA Tour, where Mickelson had played. His tweet then drew over 600 responses as of Thursday night, and Mickelson answered 14 across a multiple-hour span. 

At 10:02 a.m. ET., the conversation began when Twitter account Flushing It wrote , “If there was a LIV v PGA Tour team event right now in a Ryder Cup format with Phil and Tiger as captains, it would be the most watched golf event in history.” Danny Woodhead, a former NFL running back, then replied in support , and Mickelson responded about an hour and a half after the original tweet, at 7:45 p.m. in Saudi Arabia.

It sounds great,but we would dominate them so soundly and it would be over so quick that tv would have to fill an hour of dead time. That’s why it’s not happening at this time 🤷‍♂️ — Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 2, 2023

“It sounds great,” Mickelson wrote, “but we would dominate them so soundly and it would be over so quick that tv would have to fill an hour of dead time. That’s why it’s not happening at this time” 

That drew the hundreds of responses, including the 14 from Mickelson. Below is the complete exchange, in order of time of Twitter user reply. (Editor’s note: The tweets are unedited and, at one point, insensitive.)

1. Twitter user at 11:46 a.m. : “LIV has 6 of the top 100 players in the world. The PGA tour has the other 94.”

Mickelson at 2:02 p.m. : “That’s a good one. That’s probably because the head of golf’s governing bodies run the owgr and have colluded to exclude LIV players from getting points. I’m not a fake media believer but if I was, this would be the perfect example.”

2. Twitter user at 11:54 a.m. : “”Are you trying to taunt them into doing it or something? You’re only hurting yourself by highlighting how ridiculous the idea of LIV guys dominating PGAT guys sounds. Literally can’t tell if you’re trying to make a joke about how badly LIV would lose.”

Mickelson at 11:55 a.m. : “Your sense of humor is stiffer than an Aureus collar”

‘Embarrassed’ by recent play, slimmer Phil Mickelson details holistic makeover

3. Twitter user at 12:08 p.m. : “Do you still play golf Phil?”

Mickelson at 12:14 p.m. : “Ma’am, we are speaking guy talk. This isn’t directed towards you”

4. Twitter user at 12:09 p.m. : “Like tiger dominated you”

Mickelson at 12:11 p.m. : “Thank him for the 9 mil when you speak to him.” 

5. Twitter user at 12:51 p.m. , in response to the above tweet: “Imagine talking this much shit about someone who literally put you in a shadow for the majority of your career. Phil’s the definition  of you used to be cool.”

Mickelson at 12:55 p.m. : “Thank you Skoal I didn’t know I ever was cool”

6. Twitter user at 12:18 p.m. : “It’s not happening because no one likes Phil. Blood on his hands. He should renounce his citizenship and move to Saudi Arabia.”

Mickelson at 12:22 p.m. : “You’re so funny and witty Derek. Have you ever tried stand up?”

7. Twitter user at 12:24 p.m. : “@McIlroyRory @JustinThomas34 @TigerWoods @JordanSpieth @RickieFowler @maxhoma23  I think these guys would have something to say about this.”

Mickelson at 12:27 p.m. : “They do seem to talk a lot.”

8. Twitter user at 12:29 p.m. : “@TigerWoods come on man. Let’s make it happen”

Was this Phil Mickelson tweet about Rory McIlroy sarcastic? He says not

Mickelson at 12:31 p.m. : “Tell him he can use a cart”

9. Twitter user at 12:41 p.m. : “Why? Why have you become such a [clown emoji]? Maybe you always were & we just never knew it.”

Mickelson at 12:47 p.m. : “Coulrophobic I see”

10. Twitter user at 1:01 p.m. : “You an ass! I hope you get booed off the playing grounds. Boos are free!”

Mickelson at 1:04 p.m. : “I see your sense of humor lived in your hair”

11. Twitter user at 1:42 p.m. : “Phil you been putting too much “good stuff” in your coffee my guy”

Mickelson at 1:44 p.m. : “That’s simply not possible”

12. Twitter user at 1:54 p.m. : “Phil = the ultimate sh&t talker trying to make it happen. I see what you did there @PhilMickelson”

Mickelson at 1:56 p.m. : “Jeff, you seem to be the only one.”

13. Twitter user at 2:02 p.m. : “Man you so lame and insecure these days, you know what they say: “Money doesn’t change you, it just makes you more of what you are””

Mickelson at 2:03 p.m. : “thank you”

14. Twitter user at 6:51 p.m. : “How do you say that Phil since the inception of LIV no LIV player has won a thing in a regular tour event. You’ve lost your mind.”

Phil Mickelson wants to move on, but will golf fans let him?

Mickelson at 7:44 p.m. : “I’m guessing that’s cuz we’ve been suspended and haven’t been allowed to play a regular tour event” 

The exchange comes after a controversial year for Mickelson. Nearly a year ago, he had spoken controversially about the Saudi backers of LIV , apologized and went into exile , before playing in all eight of LIV’s events, along with the U.S. Open and the Open Championship. Mickelson had also significantly cut back his once-frequent social media use, only to return to a degree over the past couple of weeks . 

Ahead of the Saudi International, which is backed by same group that supports LIV Golf, he was asked about his recent increase, and this is the complete exchange:

Question: “Can I ask you about your social media engagement; we’re so happy that you’re back on it. What I really find interesting is that you are perhaps one of the players who just doesn’t post one and forget about it. I think you do make an effort to go through the comments and reply to the comments. Can you just tell me about your social media philosophy, and will we be able to see you full time on it?

Mickelson: “I’ve had a lot of fun with it over the years, and this last year, I’ve kind of gone dark, if you will, and rightfully so. I have to be very careful; I can’t say all the things I want to say yet. But many this year I’ll be able to. I’ll have that freedom when some of these things going on off the course get settled and become more transparent. I have to be a little bit guarded right now, but later this year, when things are much more transparent, I’ll be able to be more engaging.

“But on areas that I’m able to be, I guess, more engaging, where it’s not going to cause problems with some of the things that are going on off the course, then I’m going to try to do that, because I enjoy it. I think it’s fun. I’ve always enjoyed having fun.

“But there’s a little bit of a transition, and I knew that this was going to happen for the first couple of years, that I’ll have to be — want to be sensitive and careful and a little bit guarded. But I’m looking forward to being a little more engaging, as well.”

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Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at [email protected].

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2024 Wells Fargo Championship best bets, predictions: PGA Tour odds, picks

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While we are all awaiting the year’s second golf major, next week’s PGA Championship, we have a Signature Event this week.

There are 69 golfers set to tee it up at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club, a true championship-level golf course in Charlotte, N.C.. In fact, it has previously hosted the 2017 PGA Championship and the 2022 Presidents Cup, and will play host to the 2025 PGA Championship.

A par-71 course that measures 7,558 yards, Quail Hollow is one of the longest and most difficult courses on the regular PGA Tour schedule. It has classical features with tree-lined fairways and thick rough, and there are water hazards in play on seven of the 18 holes.

With the long length and the fact that there aren’t many forced layups, this is a driver-heavy course. The averaging driving distance at Quail Hollow in 2023 was 304 yards — one of the highest marks of the entire season. This is one of a handful of events on the tour where driving distance is a big advantage. 

The greens are average in size (6,600 square feet) and feature bermudagrass with poa trivialis overseed. They are difficult to hit on average, which makes iron play and scrambling important.

Essentially, we are looking for golfers this week to bet on who don’t have a major weakness and who are long off the tee.

It also doesn’t hurt to have good course history here, as this is one of the most predictive events on the PGA Tour. In other words, golfers who have played well at Quail Hollow tend to continue to play well there.

Let’s get into this week’s picks. 

Wells Fargo Championship top odds

Wells fargo championship best bets, wyndham clark to win (+1600, bet365 ).

We don’t see golfers win the same PGA Tour event in back-to-back years very often, but it’s certainly not unprecedented.

Clark, who won at Quail Hollow in 2023 as a massive underdog , has been dominant in Signature Events this season. He won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, was runner-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship, and finished third at the RBC Heritage.

He’s one of the longest hitters in the field and doesn’t have a weakness in his game. He has as much win equity as Rory McIlroy or Xander Schauffele, and we are getting much better odds on Clark. 

Cameron Young to win (+2800, BetRivers )

Young is going to pick up his first win on the PGA Tour sooner rather than later, and I’ve maintained that it will come on a championship-level golf course.

He has contended in several majors in his career and now has a total of seven runner-up finishes. It’s not like he doesn’t know how to win, as he had two victories on the Korn Ferry Tour before earning his PGA Tour card.

He’s one of the best drivers in the world and is elite with his mid and long irons. If he can have a decent week with his putter, I like his chances to contend. 

Xander Schauffele top-10 finish (+115, bet365)

This is the safest bet of the week with positive odds because Schaufefle has finished in the top 10 in six of his last nine starts.

He has finished T2 and T14 in his last two stroke-play events at Quail Hollow, a course where he was dominant at the Presidents Cup in 2022.

He’s one of the few golfers on tour that is elite in all aspects of his game. He’s an excellent driver, he’s elite on approach, he’s terrific around the greens, and he’s a good putter.

I see no reason why he can’t post another top-10 finish this week.

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Adam Scott top-10 finish (+375, bet365)

Scott’s T30 finish last week doesn’t jump off the page, but he gained 6.3 strokes ball striking.

This season he has consistent results but inconsistent strokes-gained numbers. He’ll have a good week ball-striking, then he’ll have a good week with the short game, and then he’ll have a good week with some other combination of those categories.

The way I see it, he has the potential to gain in all four aspects and put it all together.

He finished T5 at Quail Hollow last year and tends to play his best on classical golf courses like this one.

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Golf world reacts to PGA Tour-LIV unification

Chris Canty reacts to the PGA, LIV Golf and DP World Tour merging. (1:24)

In a massive development announced Tuesday morning, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf League announced they were unifying .

The deal ends two years of what PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan called "disruption and distraction," but also included numerous legal proceedings and tense relationships between players across the different circuits.

The deal's announcement caught players by surprise. One PGA Tour player, reached by ESPN on Tuesday, said: "No f---ing way."

Other players from the leagues shared their reactions:

Awesome day today 😊 https://t.co/qUwVJiydym — Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) June 6, 2023

Welfare Check on Chamblee — Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) June 6, 2023

Monumental day for the game of golf. — Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) June 6, 2023

For a kid whose only jobs have been caddy and golfer that struggles to remember to check his email, I sure have been on a lot of important business-like phone calls today — max homa (@maxhoma23) June 7, 2023

Was having quite the nice practice session this morning too pic.twitter.com/qWBKuM2yHO — Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 6, 2023

And everyone thought yesterday was the longest day in golf — Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) June 6, 2023

Cheers to my LIV and PGA Tour people, cheers to the future of golf, and cheers to the fans. Today was a win for all of us. I'm more than excited for the future. Go Range Goats pic.twitter.com/EsAE9Qgarf — Talor Gooch (@TalorGooch) June 6, 2023

I've grown up being a fan of the 4 Aces. Maybe one day I get to play for them on the PGA Tour! — Joel Dahmen (@Joel_Dahmen) June 6, 2023

The golf world right now.. pic.twitter.com/RRtdXFbYNJ — Smylie Kaufman (@SmylieKaufman10) June 6, 2023

Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right? 🤷🏻‍♂️ — Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) June 6, 2023

Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we're merging with a tour that we said we'd never do that with. — Mackenzie Hughes (@MacHughesGolf) June 6, 2023

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PGA Championship

PGA Championship 2024: Michael Block on his 'Year of Blockie' and what happens when your 15 minutes of fame are up

Michael Block reacts after his shot from the 15th tee during the third round of the 2023 PGA Championship.

Kevin C. Cox

Michael Block has snuck into his office and he reminds himself to shut the door. This is his home, a room tucked away in the ranch-style clubhouse surrounded by the rolling foothills of Southern California. But Block prefers an open entryway so he can keep an eye on the assistants running Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club’s pro shop, to say hello to those checking in and to deliver a good-natured jab to the regulars. Yet Block has to be hidden now, after the “photo requests and autographs and conversations” made it impossible for the staff to get any work done. He’s uncomfortable being sequestered from “my guys,” but the door must remain closed.

That Block is rarely here makes the isolation harder. He rushed back from Frisco, Texas, where he competed at the Club Pro Championship, to be at Arroyo Trabuco’s two-day member-guest. It will be the only two days he’s at the club this month. He’ll get a week of practice and preparation before heading to Louisville for the PGA Championship, followed by a return to Texas for the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, which he will play for the second straight season on a sponsor exemption. As Block recounts his itinerary he realizes, with a mix of incredulity and resignation, it’s been a year since he’s given a teaching lesson. Chasing a dream has made home a foreign place.

“It's been the best year of my life, and I wouldn’t change one thing about it. But it's very, very strange,” Block says. “To go from a nobody, a husband and father of two, then all of a sudden the golf’s world's watching every move I make, just the whole thing's been very odd.”

It was this time last May that Block captivated the golf world, the 46-year-old public course club pro with a friendly demeanor and self-deprecating humor contending at Oak Hill during the 2023 PGA Championship while winning over the crowds in Rochester and those watching from home. On a macro level there was something palliative about Block’s Cinderella success against the backdrop of the prevalent greed, entitlement and self-interest from professional golf’s civil war. In a micro sense, it was endearing to see a man have the time of his life in a moment he thought would never come.

This wonder crescendoed on Sunday, when Block, paired with Rory McIlroy, made a slam-dunk hole-in-one late on the back nine, a shot that left Block seemingly feigning disbelief as the gallery chanted his name. He made a nifty up-and-down for par at the final hole to finish tied for 15th, earning an invite into this year's PGA.

The “Block Party” was one of the feel-good stories of the year. Then the damndest thing happened. The party continued. Much, much longer than anyone—including Block—could expect.

Michael Block, who was the low PGA professional, is congratulated by 2023 PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka at Oak Hill.

Ross Kinnaird

Block received two PGA Tour sponsor exemptions in the ensuing three weeks, with one of his rounds at Colonial receiving featured group coverage, and was given an invite into the Australian Open. After failing to qualify for the U.S. Open he was on the grounds of Los Angeles Country Club anyway, promoting Dewar’s Scotch whisky. There were countless other promotional events, including a hole-in-one challenge with Michelob and working a drive-thru shift at Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers restaurant. He was invited to Tiger Woods’ charity invitational, rubbed shoulders with Brooks Koepka, Max Homa and Bubba Watson. He still competed in his local PGA competitions—including winning the Southern California PGA Professional Championship—but he also became a fixture on the celebrity circuit. The 46-year-old “nobody” was suddenly receiving texts from Michael Jordan and hanging out with Hollywood stars.

“I literally spent a year living a dream, feeling like I just woke up from a dream. I'm like, no, I was just on FaceTime with [actor] Mark Wahlberg sitting next to [rapper] DJ Khaled having lunch in his backyard,” Block says. “And it makes no sense to me. But at the same time I've been going with it. One of the things that Khaled told me while sitting in his backyard was, ‘This is your year Blockie and don't say no to anything.’”

This guiding principle spurred a Block backlash of sorts. Inaccessibility to professional athletes has been a growing problem in sports, yet Block was perhaps too available. He did 30 interviews between Sunday at Oak Hill and a press conference two days later at Colonial, and he’s lost count of how many podcasts, interviews and videos he’s done since. A lot of those platforms aided Block’s popularity, amplifying his story and persona to a public that mostly couldn’t get enough. In that same breath, Block’s willingness to partake in the hagiography of his life could be construed as thirsty. This culture loves celebrities, but it doesn’t want its celebrities to want celebrity.

Provoking that agitation was Block’s response to a podcast host's question about the biggest difference between his game and Rory McIlroy’s. Block responded, “Oh my God. What I would shoot from where Rory hits it would be stupid. I think I'd be one of the best players in the world. Hands down. If I had that stupid length, all day. My iron game, wedge game, around the greens and my putting is world class.”

Never mind this is exactly the type of conviction needed by any golfer, let alone a club pro contending at a major championship. Block’s words were seen as cavalier and brash , sentiments that while celebrated in other sports are considered cardinal sins in golf.

Not helping was Block’s performance. He finished dead last the week after Oak Hill at the Charles Schwab Challenge and didn’t do much better at the RBC Canadian Open. In fact, of the eight PGA Tour starts Block made the past two seasons, Oak Hill was the only one where he made the cut. Without the game to back his story up, Block went from a scene stealer to side show. The line is thin and the standards are harsh, but that is the reality.

He was enjoying the spoils of his newfound stardom, but Block admits the negative reaction got to him.

“The hate part of it, the social media part got us nasty, man,” Block says. “I'm sure some people talk trash behind my back in my life, but I'm literally seeing people that hate me and I'm going, ‘What in the world did I ever do to this human being?’ I didn’t understand it. That was definitely the toughest part.

“I was trying to defend myself and trying to be like, ‘Hey, you don't know me.’ I remember I saw someone say, ‘I heard Michael doesn’t treat club pros well.’ Bro, I’m a club pro, what are you talking about? People just hate people just to do it and just to get likes and all this other stuff. So I understand that's what just kind of comes around with the territory in this world.”

After his PGA Championship performance, Michael Block got numerous opportunities to play in pro events, and tried to qualify for the Open Championship.

Mark Runnacles/R&A

It’s worth remembering how unchartered this territory was for Block. He didn’t become a PGA member until 35 years old, too busy trying to get Arroyo Trabuco off the ground in the early-to-mid Aughts to worry about playing against fellow club pros and the opportunities that come with it. Eventually the Arroyo Trabuco regulars, who played against Block in a Tuesday morning money game, pushed him to get his PGA license to compete, and in his first year he won the PGA’s Professional Championship. Even before Oak Hill, Block had become something of a SoCal PGA legend; he’s won his district’s Player of the Year honor in 10 of the last 11 years. Still, the expanse between who he was to what he had become was wide, and he had to make that tightrope walk where every misstep was now noted.

If Block’s sensitive about the criticism, it’s because he’s a people-pleaser. It’s what got him into the club pro business. He loves being social, and loves that it’s his job to help make others happy. It’s why Block acted like such a showman in Rochester (although, he would like to add, he truly didn’t know he made that hole-in-one with Rory). Fans enjoy when he hams it up, and frankly, he does, too.

“I've noticed that I love the crowd,” Block says with a laugh, when answering what he’s learned about himself. “I really do. They really inspire me to hit better shots. I really love making putts, whether it's for a birdie part or bogey, I don't care. Just to have the crowd roar and to cheer for me, what a rush.”

And who could blame him? He was a regular guy being treated like royalty, so you’re damn right he was going to say “yes” to every opportunity. That many came with financial benefits didn’t hurt, but in truth, Block says he knew how ridiculous all this was, and also understood it had a shelf life. He didn’t want to view this once-in-a-lifetime stretch with regret.

Block gets that next week the "Year of Blockie" will likely conclude at Valhalla. What happened last spring hasn’t bestowed fantastical aspirations of winning the Wanamaker. Block simply wants to make the cut, and considering he owns a share of the Valhalla course record, he likes his chances. However, the Block Party’s one-year anniversary has allowed him to look through the window of the past. Block says he has watched the highlights from his final round at Oak Hill; when he ultimately returned to California, Escalade gifted him a car to use for the rest of the year (the company had a suite right next to his ace at the 15th), and preloaded on a TV headrest the broadcast from Rochester.

“It was surreal,” Block says. “I’m sitting in an SUV watching myself on television. Like, come on .” He also doesn’t need to watch it again.

“It’s imprinted in my head,” Block says. “I can’t tell you what I did yesterday. But I can tell you every shot, every interaction, every minute of that experience. I still remembering going into the merchandise tent early Saturday and there’s a huge reaction to me being there. Or at night, when me and my friends are having wine and beer and running up the largest bill I’ve ever seen, and some stranger took care of it for us. I remember everything, because I didn’t want it to end.”

The one thing that sticks out the most is a scene that happened across the country from Arroyo Trabuco’s clubhouse, moments after Block made his hole-in-one. That’s where Block’s family was, including his mom and dad and his sons. After the ace, the owner of the course jumped on a table and bought a round for everyone.

“Man, I started crying when I saw that watch party,” Block says. ‘I had no idea that watch party was happening when I played on that Sunday. When I got back, you know, all the servers, the line cooks, everyone in the restaurant was just like, you can tell that they look at me differently now 'cause they've seen me on the TV and watching that stuff.”

Now 47, Block never wanted to be staring down a six-footer to pay for his mortgage, and he’s not obtuse to his playing results post-Oak Hill. He’s wary of the road. He wants to be with his family, especially as his sons are becoming serious golfers. He’s looking forward to Valhalla where “I promise to take as many autographs and photos to anyone that asks,” Block says, “and to thank everyone for what they’ve given to me over the past year.”

But he knows who he is and where he belongs. Michael Block wants to be home, preferably with the door open.

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Rory McIlroy won’t rejoin PGA Tour board, says others were ‘uncomfortable’ with his potential return

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after making birdie on the 16th hole during the final round of the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, standing, and his teammate Shane Lowry, of Ireland, line up a shot on the 17th green during the final round of the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits onto the 18th green during the final round of the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rory McIlroy won’t be returning to the PGA Tour board, saying Wednesday a plan to replace Webb Simpson was met with resistance from board members.

Simpson, one of six player-directors, recently offered to give up his seat — but only if McIlroy were to replace him. McIlroy would have needed board approval to be reinstated to a position that he resigned from last November .

But McIlroy said ahead of the Wells Fargo Championship that conversations surrounding his potential return became “pretty complicated and messy,” which reminded him of why he left in the first place.

“I think with the way it happened it opened up some old wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before,” McIlroy said. “I think there was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason.”

McIlroy’s reinstatement would have been viewed as a chance to help improve the PGA Tour’s stalled negotiations with the Saudi financial backers of LIV Golf.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said the development “is in no way a commentary on Rory’s important perspective and influence.” He said it was a matter of adhering to the governance process of joining the board.

“Webb remaining in his position as a member of the policy board and PGA Tour Enterprises board through the end of his term provides the continuity needed at this vital time,” Monahan said.

The world’s No. 2 player said when he stepped down he could no longer commit the time and energy that board work required with the PGA Tour trying to finalize an agreement with the Public Investment Fund.

Unable to finalize a deal by the end of last year, the PGA Tour brought in Strategic Sports Group as a minority investor . That deal could be worth as much as $3 billion.

“I put my hand up to help and it was, I wouldn’t say it was rejected, (but) it was a complicated process to get through to put me back on there,” McIlroy said about potentially returning the board. “So that’s all fine, no hard feelings and we’ll all move on.”

Simpson said he now plans to finish out his three-year term on the board. He said he offered to give up his seat to McIlroy because he’s a “global superstar” and would give Europeans a needed voice in major tour decisions.

McIlroy is still likely to be involved, though not in a board capacity, given the relationships he has built on both tours. He also met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, last year during the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2022. McIlroy said on a soccer podcast in January he encouraged the PGA Tour to meet with Al-Rumayyan.

The stunning framework agreement among the PGA Tour, European tour and PIF was announced June 6.

“Rory always had great ideas of how do we move forward, how do we get the love and attention from fans back from where we had it maybe two years ago, how do we grow our business, all things related to the PGA Tour,” Simpson said.

But there are some on the board who remain at odds with the four-time major champion after McIlroy changed his views about LIV Golf in recent months, suggesting that LIV players be allowed to return to the PGA Tour without penalty.

McIlroy also disagreed in February with Jordan Spieth’s comments that a deal with PIF was not needed because of the SSG investment, although it would help with unification.

McIlroy suggested one solution for growing the game would be going to a more global schedule that includes more tournaments overseas, although he questioned whether American players would want to travel out of the United States for a dozen events.

Regardless, McIlroy remains bothered by the state of the game and wants to see a resolution for the good of the fans, a growing faction of which have become unhappy — or even worse, apathetic — with the splintering of players on two watered-down tours.

McIlroy said it’s all about finding a compromise for both sides, even though neither side may walk away completely happy.

“I would say I’m impatient because I think we’ve got this window of opportunity to get it done, because both sides from a business perspective ... I wouldn’t say need to get it done, but it makes sense,” McIlroy said. “And I just think — I sort of liken it to like when Northern Ireland went through the peace process in the ’90s and the Good Friday Agreement, neither side was happy. Catholics weren’t happy, Protestants weren’t happy, but it brought peace and then you just sort of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated, right?”

AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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Why webb simpson's board seat could play a key role in pga tour-pif deal and the future of professional golf, share this article.

McKINNEY, Texas – Ever since Webb Simpson offered to resign his seat on the board if Rory McIlroy took his spot, it has been a hot topic of conversation in the PGA Tour locker room and beyond.

Simpson, one of the six player directors on the Tour Policy Board, submitted a letter stating he’d like to resign with the caveat that McIlroy serve the remainder of his time on the Board. It’s a strange twist given that McIlroy resigned from the board abruptly in November, and was replaced by Jordan Spieth through a Board vote. (Simpson responded via text to an interview request saying, “I’ve been hunkered down and focused on my family and golf the last couple of weeks and it’s been very nice.” He didn’t participate in this story.)

Adam Scott, who joined the Board this year, said there wasn’t anything scheduled “at the moment as far as I know,” but noted, “it could be a good thing.”

“Rory is an important part of this Tour. His voice matters. We have to come together and make a decision as a Board how this is going to go forward,” Scott said.

He added the process is complicated because of Simpson’s highly unusual request.

“Usually, a player doesn’t have a contingency to their resignation and names a successor,” Scott said. “Some of the delay is just figuring out what is sensible. It’s a shame that it is out in the public. We don’t need all the ins and outs and being spread out detail-wise. We have a responsibility to shareholders now. The process matters more than ever. I think the process matters in general.”

If McIlroy were to rejoin the board that would mean that three of the largest stakeholders in the Tour’s new for-profit business entity – Woods, McIlroy and Spieth – would also be voting on Board matters.

“I think I could be helpful to the process,” McIlroy said at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans when the story originally broke. “But only if people want me involved, I guess. When Webb and I talked and he talked about potentially coming off the board, I said, ‘Look, if it was something that other people wanted, I would gladly take that seat,’ and that was the conversation that we had.

“But yeah, I think that’s the whole reason. I feel like I can be helpful. I feel like I care a lot, and I have some pretty good experience and good connections within the game and sort of around the wider sort of ecosystem and everything that’s going on. But at the end of the day, it’s not quite up to me to just come back on the board. There’s a process that has to be followed. But I’m willing to do it if that’s what people want, I guess.”

Rory McIlroy shares a laugh with Shane Lowry about his belt not fitting properly after winning the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. (Photo: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

While McIlroy gained respect among players for serving as an unofficial Tour spokesman for the better part of two years in the Tour’s civil war with LIV Golf, his decision to exit the Board during such a pivotal time in shaping the Tour’s future didn’t sit well with everyone.

“He was very clear that it was too much for him. He had business dealings, he has a kid, he wants to focus on his game. Trust me, I get it. But once you quit, you’re not getting back,” said Kevin Streelman, a former member of the policy board who ran against McIlroy for Player Advisory Council chairman. “I wouldn’t quit on something that you were elected to by your peers. To want back in is peculiar.”

James Hahn, another former player director, questioned how Simpson could handpick his successor.

“That’s just not how democracy works. It goes against all the principles of what make a Tour-run organization,” he said.

Hahn wondered what would happen if U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris said she was stepping down as long as she could choose her successor. Then he put it back into terms that hit more closer to home. “Imagine if instead of Rory, Webb said he wanted Nate Lashley, who has been vocal against some of the Tour policy decisions, or named me to replace him. There would be an absolute uproar. People would be saying, ‘You can’t do that.’ ”

One veteran pro, who asked for anonymity because of his limited status – “I’m begging for starts,” he said – claimed that Simpson will remain on the board for the remainder of his term. The veteran pro said he asked board member Patrick Cantlay at the Zurich Classic about McIlroy’s potential return.

“I asked Cantlay, Is Rory back on the board? He said, No. But Patrick is really smart so I thought about how I phrased the question,” the veteran player recounted. “Maybe he was just answering based on this very moment. I said, Pat, I apologize, maybe I asked the wrong question. Did Webb step down? He said, Webb has not stepped down from the board. Then I went higher up and got the full story. Now, it does sound like things change daily out here, maybe hourly, so you never know.”

Cantlay and McIlroy had been at loggerheads during their time on the Board. In November, McIlroy told Paul Kimmage of The Independent , “My relationship with Cantlay is average at best. We don’t have a ton in common and see the world quite differently.” And that was the nicest thing McIlroy had to say about Cantlay, who also described him using a four-letter word for male genitalia.

Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay shake hands after their final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The idea of Simpson stepping down and being replaced by McIlroy is appealing to many who want to see the Tour complete a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Speaking at the Zurich Classic, McIlroy said, “I think I can be helpful. I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be.”

One tournament director said McIlroy realized he made a big mistake in stepping down and is needed to help get a deal with PIF across the finish line.

“We need Rory back on the board. Had he stayed on he could’ve neutered Cantlay. He’s the only one with the power to neuter Cantlay. We need Rory to try to keep Cantlay from ruining the Tour,” a tournament director said. “Webb is too nice. A lot of people at the Tour at a very high level are thrilled that Rory is going back on the board for that reason.”

The tournament director compared McIlroy’s return to picking its poison.

“Rory wants the Irish Open and other international events to be promoted and smaller fields and larger purses. There’s a lot we don’t like about Rory and his deal. But the main thing is Cantlay and we’ve got to get a deal done with the PIF. LIV’s got to go away. If we don’t get a deal done, we’re all screwed in the end. We all know it. (Cantlay) is against it. Rory is for it. So let’s get a deal done and get these (guys) put to bed. Do any of us want to work with the Saudis, no? But, on the other hand, none of us want to fight against them and their money for the rest of our careers, either. Cantlay is blocking any type of deal they try to put together. Rory wants (independent director) Jimmy Dunne to be the negotiator, not the players. The players should only be voting on what happens inside the ropes and rules and stuff. They are not businessmen. If you have a high school education how the hell can you vote on multi-billion-dollar finance situations and investment properties? They don’t have a clue. They don’t know the business. Hire the top business guys in the world to do your deal. Put them in place and be done with it.”

Simpson is expected to meet with the media on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he is playing on a sponsor’s invite, and he undoubtedly will be asked about his future on the Tour’s policy board. How he chooses to address those questions may offer some clarity into why he’d like to resign and insight into how this process may play out.

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Rory McIlroy not returning to PGA Tour board after ‘old wounds’ reopened

• Decision set to cause consternation with sponsors and partners
• ‘It got pretty complicated and pretty messy,’ declared golfer

The internal politics of the PGA Tour have been placed into sharp focus after Rory McIlroy was astonishingly prevented from returning to a position of power within the organisation. The inability of McIlroy to take places on the PGA Tour policy board and as a director of PGA Tour Enterprises is certain to cause consternation among sponsors and partners, including the European Tour Group.

Webb Simpson planned to resign from both boards, with the former US Open champion offering specific instruction that he wanted McIlroy to take on the positions. The 35-year-old, who has been frustrated at the time being taken to unify golf, was happy to step forward.

This, however, triggered ructions on the all-powerful PGA Tour policy board. Members include Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth and there is no European representation. McIlroy has clashed previously with Cantlay and Spieth over golf’s future. After delay upon delay at holding a vote over McIlroy’s return – he resigned from the policy board last November, citing time constraints – Simpson will remain in place.

“It got pretty complicated and pretty messy,” said McIlroy. “I think it opened up some old wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before. There was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason. I think the best course of action is, if there’s some people on there that aren’t comfortable with me coming back on, then I think Webb just stays on and sees out his term. I think he’s gotten to a place where he’s comfortable with doing that and I just sort of keep doing what I’m doing.

“I put my hand up to help and it was ... I wouldn’t say it was rejected, it was a complicated process to get through to put me back on there. So that’s all fine, no hard feelings and we’ll all move on.

“My fear was if Webb stepped off and it wasn’t me that was going in his place, what could potentially happen. I’m really happy that Webb has made that decision to stay on and serve out the rest of his term.”

Those familiar with the situation have told the Guardian that lesser and alternative posts were floated for McIlroy, which he was unwilling to accept. When speaking in public, it is likely policy board members will cite governance concerns relating to Simpson effectively giving his directorships to McIlroy. However, such a point would be undermined by the processes during which Woods and Spieth were placed on the board.

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McIlroy has been adamant golf requires a global schedule, as a means for traditional tours to work in tandem with the Saudi Arabian-funded LIV circuit. “I’m impatient because I think we’ve got this window of opportunity to get it done,” added the world No 2. “I sort of liken it to like when Northern Ireland went through the peace process in the ’90s and the Good Friday agreement. Neither side was happy. Catholics weren’t happy, Protestants weren’t happy, but it brought peace and then you just sort of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated, right? That was in 1998 and 25 years ahead, my generation doesn’t know any different.”

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Sleeper Picks: Wells Fargo Championship

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Harris English (+5000) … He hasn’t captured victory since emerging as the survivor of an eight-hole playoff at the 2021 Travelers Championship, but the 34-year-old has been flashing vintage form for a good year now, itself about a year on from surgery for a torn labrum in his right hip. He’s well above average across the board and Quail Hollow is the site of his most recent podium finish. No one was catching Wyndham Clark for the win at last year’s Wells Fargo Championship, but English shared third in the full field (seven strokes back).

Sahith Theegala (+450) … Learning from last week’s lesson when S.H. Kim “should” have been the fourth Sleeper among the Top 5s to pay it off this year. (He finished T4 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.) Instead, he was slotted as the outright in this space (although there was a nod to swap him with Thomas Detry, the listed Top 5). To wit, Theegala was the original front-runner for this week’s outright, but he sets up better for the next-best reward. Any course history, good or otherwise, can be chalked up as invaluable experience because of his quick-study profile as a feel player. Of course, it’s a results-based business, but he has a stack of receipts if you need those, too. Two runner-up finishes, a solo fifth and another pair of top 10s already this season.

Brendon Todd (+600) … When a guy who never will win a long-drive contest answers the bell on a course like Quail Hollow that most definitely rewards distance off the tee, respect is even greater. Yet, he’s in the longer half of odds in the field for this finish. Ignore the slight because that’s very good for us. He placed T8 here last year but he also finished T18 in 2019, arguably the more impressive outcome given the fact that he had arrived that week at 1,560th in the Official World Golf Ranking due to an extended skid with the driver yips. No such worries nowadays. He’s 20th on the PGA TOUR in fairways hit and a classically strong 18th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Kevin Tway (+500) … A T11 with Kelly Kraft at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was a bonus, but it’s now sandwiched in between a solo third at Corales and a T9 at TPC Craig Ranch. He arrives for his fourth start at Quail Hollow (via the Aon Swing 5) with eight consecutive sub-70s in individual competition, so investing in a Top 20 in a field of 69, regardless of its depth and breadth, is meaty. The gamechanger of late has been his putting, and it hasn’t made a difference that he’s rolled it on paspalum, Bermuda and bentgrass the last three weeks, respectively. Pure and simple, he’s feelin’ it.

Emiliano Grillo (+210) … It’s a beautiful thing that BetMGM opened this market for the Signature Event. It’s even better than the Argentine is worth more than twice the kickback in it. Awful closing rounds in his last two paydays shoved him well away from the spotlight. He also never locked in at the Masters, but negative results on the biggest stages are forgiven. He’s still putting exceptionally well across full tournaments, so it pays to dive into that detail. Oh, and he’s gone T9-T14-T23 at Quail Hollow since 2018.

Odds were sourced at BetMGM.

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.

Rob Bolton is a Golfbet columnist for the PGA TOUR. The Chicagoland native has been playing fantasy golf since 1994, so he was just waiting for the Internet to catch up with him. Follow Rob Bolton on Twitter .