It is the fastest and most decisive victory in the entire history of international sport-business. In less than 18 months, LIV Golf has passed the K.-O. the prestigious PGA Tour, which had dominated professional golf for 50 years.
Who would have imagined such a scenario in June 2022, when LIV presented its first tournament? We all knew that this new league benefited from the financial support of its shareholder, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. But from there to impose itself so quickly, the margin is enormous.
The “merger” announced on Tuesday represents the triumph of money. And in this specific case, as the saying goes, money has no smell.
Since its inception, LIV has been judged harshly because it is a creature of Saudi Arabia, a country that flouts human rights. Very quickly, a moral distinction emerged: freedom-loving and justice-loving gamers would turn down LIV’s offers because they didn’t want to be associated with this regime.
Some of the best in the world, however, have not had a case of conscience. Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and many others have shamelessly accepted the extraordinary bonuses – often tens of millions – given to them for making the jump.
PHOTO CHRIS TROTMAN, LIV GOLF ARCHIVES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dustin Johnson
Asked about their sense of ethics, most of them replied – without laughing – that their objective was to develop and popularize golf throughout the world. A little more and they would have underlined their own abnegation!
Their colleagues who remained on the PGA Tour, however, quickly became envious. Why were the purses offered in the LIV tournaments 25 million US while they themselves often fought for 10 million less?
Under the influence of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, the PGA Tour announced a notable increase in its purses. But the LIV Golf revolution was on and nothing could stop it.
Analysts also believed that top LIV golfers would underperform due to a lower level of competition in their circuit. When Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson tied for second in the Masters last April, and Koepka went on to win the PGA Championship last month, that theory was put to rest. *
Financially, the “merger” announced Tuesday between the two circuits looks more like a takeover of LIV.
Yes, the PGA Tour will appoint the majority of the board members of the new venture. But the Saudi FIP, with its money printing board, will now invest additional sums there in order to accelerate “its growth and success”, in the words of the official press release. This will give the Saudis additional influence.
That’s not all: the FIP obtains a right of first refusal if the injection of additional funds becomes necessary. Concretely, this gives him the right to decide on the identity of future shareholders. The boss of the FIP is also appointed chairman of the board of directors of the new company.
Last summer, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan publicly posed this question – which he wished embarrassing – to players who had left his tour and those thinking of doing so: “Have you ever had to apologize for be a member of the PGA Tour ? »
Like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and all the others before him, Monahan has now chosen his side, that of Saudi Arabia. He just needed more time to make the leap. Yes, we are talking about the same man who expelled players who signed a contract with LIV from the PGA.
In this whole story, the most furious players are surely those who refused a generous offer from LIV for ethical reasons. They no doubt believed that the PGA would struggle against the Tour for a long time. They may feel like they’ve been tricked. But at least they can be at peace with their conscience.
Many questions remain unanswered about how the “merger” will play out in sporting terms.
It seems obvious that LIV golfers will once again compete in traditional PGA tournaments, as well as international competitions such as the Ryder Cup, in addition to earning world ranking points. It remains to be seen whether a complete junction of the two circuits is envisaged.
LIV’s victory also illustrates how much the PGA has fallen asleep managing its quasi-monopoly: few innovations and above all a refusal to share a sufficient share of its income with the players.
LIV quickly sniffed out the opportunity. This circuit, let’s give it its credit, has unseated the industry with its 54-hole tournaments with shotgun starts and its relaxed atmosphere during the tournaments.
His most spectacular initiative, however, remains the creation of a team competition, which will generate growing interest in the coming years. Especially since the concept is tailor-made for sports betting, a new source of income for the golf industry.
The new “merged” company that will manage professional golf has yet to be named. Developments were too rapid. But I nevertheless have a slogan to suggest to its leaders, a slogan that perfectly sums up the adventures that led to its creation: “Money before principles”.
* The PGA and the PGA Tour are two different organizations. That’s why LIV golfers were able to compete in the PGA Championship.