Shockwaves have been sent through the world of professional sport after Saudi-backed breakaway league LIV Golf, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour announced an unprecedented merger.
The bitter feud between the PGA and LIV has dominated headlines in the professional game for the last 18 months and the new deal is something not even players on both sides knew was happening.
It’s a day that will go down in sporting history, and the only person who saw it coming was Donald Trump.
Writing almost a year ago in July 2022, Trump advised PGA players to take the money being offered to join the controversial LIV tour and warned that they’d lose out if they didn’t when the merger between the two entities eventually came.
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Sure enough, he was eventually proved right.
Trump posted after the Open in 2022, amid speculation that the winner Cam Smith was signing for LIV. Smith did eventually leave the PGA tour in order to sign with LIV for a reported $143 million.
“All of those golfers 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 get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making millions of dollars a year," Trump wrote at the time.
"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. Good luck to all, and congratulations to really talented Cam Smith on his incredible WIN!”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan released a statement on Tuesday (June 6) announcing the news, saying: “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.
“This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV - including the team golf concept - to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans.”
The announcement will lead to a “mutually-agreed” end to all pending lawsuits between the various organisations that have proved so decisive in the sport.
The news ends the legal wrangling between the parties, and the initial reaction suggests that players weren’t informed of the news before it was made public.
“I love finding out morning news on Twitter,” two-time major winner Collin Morikawa tweeted.
Fellow American PGA Tour player Michael Kim wrote: “Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right?”
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