Unveiling of Official Agreement between PGA Tour and LIV Golf Disclosed
Breaking News: PGA Tour Announces Shocking Partnership
In a surprising turn of events that has sent shockwaves through the golf world, the PGA Tour made a groundbreaking announcement on June 6th.
The news revealed an unprecedented partnership between the PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the DP World Tour (formerly known as the European Tour). This collaboration will see PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights, including their Saudi-backed LIV Golf series, merge with those of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to form a new jointly-owned for-profit entity.
The framework agreement outlining this historic alliance was shared with Congress on Monday. CNN managed to obtain a copy of this document which sheds light on the details surrounding this revolutionary venture.
The agreement states that all three parties involved will establish a Limited Liability Company referred to as “NewCo.” In this arrangement, both the PGA tour and DP World tour will contribute their respective commercial businesses and rights while PIF will bring in their golf-related investments and assets along with additional cash investment. As part of this exchange, PIF will receive equity ownership in NewCo based on mutually agreed fair value terms.
PIF is recognized globally as Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Their substantial financial investments have extended across various sectors both domestically and internationally.
The most intriguing aspect outlined in the agreement is that all three tours – PGA, DP World, and LIV – will continue operating independently. However, NewCo will conduct a thorough evaluation of LIV and its potential in team golf. This evaluation aims to determine the benefits of integrating team golf into future PGA Tour and DP World Tour events.
One notable mention in the agreement is the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), which presently does not award ranking points for LIV Golf events. The framework document discloses that all parties involved will collaborate to secure OWGR recognition for LIV events and players based on OWGR’s criteria.
This groundbreaking partnership between PGA Tour, PIF, and DP World Tour has effectively resolved any ongoing litigation between LIV Golf and the other two tours – a point worth highlighting considering their previous legal disputes.
When contacted by CNN about this monumental development, the PGA Tour issued a statement emphasizing how this collaboration would benefit players, fans, and the sport as a whole. They mentioned that they are currently working towards finalizing an official agreement pending approval from their full board including player directors.
The five-page framework agreement bears the date May 30th – exactly one week before it was publicly announced. The signatures found at the end of this document belong to Jay Monahan (PGA Tour Commissioner), Yasir Al-Rumayyan (PIF Governor), and Keith Pelley (DP World Tour CEO).
The announcement made on June 6th provoked swift reactions from various quarters including government agencies such as the US Department of Justice who have expressed concerns over possible antitrust issues related to this partnership according to reports by Wall Street Journal sources familiar with these matters…