The merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could take years to get finalized if it actually gets across the finish line at all.
One of the biggest stories in golf over the last two years has been the ongoing war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The upstart league backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund was able to immediately compete with the legendary tour by throwing around a billion dollars to lure away stars from the PGA.
Related: Senate opens investigation into PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
However, the bitter rivalry that included ongoing litigation between the two sides came to a shocking end earlier this month when the PGA Tour announced that it and DP World Tour had agreed to a merger with LIV Golf. Now, the most notable story in the industry has been on the fallout from the unexpected deal.
One major ramification of the merger is that Congress has officially opened an investigation into the PGA’s stunning decision to partner with the same tour that they maligned over two years for being funded by an arm of a government with an atrocious human rights history.
PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger could now take years to finalize
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Congress’ decision to look into the merger that a senior Tour executive told employees this week that the outcome of the planned deal may not be known for at least a year. However, the current review could make that wait even longer.
Yet, the real juicy nugget from the report wasn’t the surprisingly long wait. It was that “the official also said to [PGA employees] that it’s possible that the union between the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund will fall apart entirely if the sides cannot settle on specific terms.”
The three tours are supposed to form a company that will oversee the merger leagues and will see PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan be its first CEO. However, it seems that putting that company together could be what might eventually lead to the golf wars restarting in the future.