On a stunning and depressing day for sport, Saudi Arabia effectively bought professional golf Tuesday, as the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed Liv Tour buried the hatchet and agreed to a partnership.
While there are still so many details to be discovered, the arrangement means Saudi Arabia will effectively become the financial engine behind the professional game, in whatever iteration it takes in this brave new world.
Only last year, PGA boss Jay Monahan spoke about his deep discomfort about giving the Saudi regime a powerful hand in the governing of the sport, but that's now been washed away.
Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, using 9/11 to shame players last year for taking life changing money from LIV…
Now, he has no problem with the money and merges LIV Golf with the PGA. Disgusting.pic.twitter.com/CUhIodZIpi— Stephen Geiger (@Stephen_Geiger) June 6, 2023
Monahan addressed PGA members ahead of this weekend's Canadian Open on Tuesday evening. No golfers - not Rory McIlroy, not Tiger Woods - had any idea this merger would be announced Tuesday. The meeting was the first chance for PGA players could voice their feelings to Monaghan, and find out what was happening.
"I would describe the meeting as intense. Certainly heated," Monahan added. A golfer in the room described the split as 90/10 in terms of anger.
He explained that the best players on the PGA Tour couldn't be informed because the arrangement with Liv is currently a 'framework'.
Monahan also spoke to allegations of hypocrisy that have been leveled at him, considering only a year ago he was airing concerns about Saudi Arabia's human rights regime.
“I recognize everything I’ve said in the past in my past positions. I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite. Anytime I said anything I said it with the information I had in the moment,” he said.
The best Liv Golf/PGA Tour memes
In times like these only memes can really give us solace.
There were so many brilliant memes doing the rounds yesterday, it was almost impossible to sift through them all. Not surprisingly, Succession memes seemed to best explain the farce.
PGA tour to merge with LIV golf, the Saudi/PIF backed group that paid huge money to top golfers and the one that Rory and Tiger rejected. pic.twitter.com/KL4Mlf7nfG
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) June 6, 2023
Rory McIlroy this morningpic.twitter.com/g9hO1yUagQ
— Michael Ritter (@MikeSteveRitter) June 6, 2023
— Karen Howell (@karenehowell) June 6, 2023
European Tour pic.twitter.com/x7nCJAzz2L
— Jay O'Reilly (@jayoreilly1183) June 6, 2023
LIV forcing PGA to merge with them: pic.twitter.com/aKKKTqIkgM
— High Yield Harry (@HighyieldHarry) June 6, 2023
Rory McIlroy was the subject of many memes. After sticking his neck out for the PGA Tour, he was betrayed by PGA leadership.
pga tour commissioner to rory mcilroy: pic.twitter.com/a2olwKSAkU
— Joe Ali (@JoeAli) June 6, 2023
Rory McIlroy meeting with Jay Monahan this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/QqbCObnL53
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) June 6, 2023
There were also many Office memes.
PGA and LIV is just Michael Scott Paper Company merging back with Dunder Mifflin pic.twitter.com/4tjnZDXXJU
— Jeremy (@rocket_4457) June 6, 2023
remember when Dunder Mifflin bought out the Michael Scott paper company. this is like that https://t.co/KszDcVVdkr
— Annie Agar (@AnnieAgar) June 6, 2023
And this classic from the height of the War on Terror sums it all up.
The PGA Tour said pic.twitter.com/495RvsVoac
— Molly (@FSUmollz) June 6, 2023
There will be so many more twists and turns in this saga, but there will certainly be more memes.
