Shocked? You bet. I was in the middle of my afternoon round of golf with buddies, topnotch Architects Omar Payumo and Benjie Panganiban, when my phone went wild with that familiar twitter sound because of the latest golf buzz in town.
I’m surprised as with the rest of the golfing world caught unaware with the “SUDDEN” merger of which nobody knew it coming.
I am in the process of writing my column on another subject but due to this sudden turn of events, I find it too much to resist since this has been my pet subject for the past months. LIV golf.
Business. Profit.
The color of money. This more or less sums up the biggest turnaround in golf and most likely the top candidate for the “GOLF NEWS of the year 2023”. After creating much animosity and divisiveness in the golf world when LIV started, this merger I bet will create more questions than answers in the coming days.
“I recognize everything I’ve said in the past in my past positions. I recognize that people will call me a hypocrite” says PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan as he releases the cat out of the box. Or as one of my golf buddies would say. “At the time he said things in the past he didn’t know how much or didn’t imagine what they could personally gain financially from a merger”.
But what about Rory, Freddie Couples and the other mouthpieces of PGA who made war of words against their colleagues in their profession, against the stars of LIV like Lefty Phil, Patrick Reid, DJ and the rest? Poor fellas they need to swallow back the bitter words they have uttered in the past against their LIV counterparts.
All litigations related to LIV and PGA Tour, DP world tour would be cancelled. This was one of the features on the merger of which details are still on the process. All legal animosity is now all water under the bridge.
All LIV golfers can now re apply for PGA and DP World Tour after the 2023 season ends. Wow and wow. But the million dollar question is, “will LIV accept furthermore applicants from the PGA and DP world Tour?”
The big leap of pro golfers from the PGA and DP world tour to LIV is a business decision above all. They knew their world ranking would be affected. They knew it would have an impact in their participation on the majors. They knew their status in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and other “exhibition” tournaments representing their countries would be jeopardized. But as things are shaping up now, these LIV golfers are most likely smiling as they peeked at their accounts at the bank. It seems they had their cake and ate it too.
The defection of Cameron Smith and Mito Pereira suddenly appear as brilliant career moves but same cannot be said with the case of Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Victor Hovland rumored ready to make their leap of faith but stick just like the others who choose the PGA out of loyalty and shun the million bucks the LIV is dangling for all newcomers.
What about the case of PGA and DP World tour players who will now knock on the door of the LIV?
Well, with the sudden turn of events, the matter has not yet been discussed by the merger unlike the accommodation they have accorded to the LIV golfers. For one, they don’t have yet a name for the entity of this merger, its structure, their plans, and direction. What is only clear is the merger which they announced to the world in haste that caught everyone unaware. Does the pressure of financial sponsors of the PGA and DP World tour have something to do with this sudden turn around? Maybe.
As for Sergio Garcia, Brooksie , DJ and especially Phil, this is a very positive development. The first three can now have a big fighting chance for inclusion in the Ryder Cup with this merger but the same cannot be said with the animosity with the other players when they are now gathered in the locker room after the war of words. Only time will tell if the wounds would heal fast. How about the captaincy of Team USA for Ryder Cup to Lefty?
As everyone have started to settle down, I see one blond hair fellow smiling, with that familiar cowboy hat with a shark logo on it riding on his horse in his ranch in Australia. After months of parrying and exchanging blows with the gods of PGA and DP world tour, the shark can now concentrate in running the affairs of LIV golf.
Only time will tell if this short fairy tale would have the usual happy ending… and they LIV happily ever after?
