BOGEY: Why did the PGA Tour merge with the Saudi & Trump-backed LIV Golf Tour?

bogey: Why did the PGA Tour merge with the Saudi & Trump-backed LIV Golf Tour?

The world needs to know who birdied and who bogeyed in the bunker battle between the American PGA Tour and the Saudi-owned LIV Tour.

The PGA Tour and LIV Tour have merged. The merger also includes the European DP Tour.

But the details of the financial terms, naming rights, sponsorships, control, and tournaments haven’t been released.

The world needs to know those terms.

Why?

Because the general consensus is that the Saudi Arabians formed the LIV Tour as nothing more than an attempt to “sportswash” its reputation, i.e., if people loved the tour, maybe they’d feel a little better about the Saudis.

If the deal leaves the Saudis as prominent partners with the PGA Tour — and the Saudis retain some naming rights and some tournaments — it is a win for Saudi Arabia and thus an utter outrage.

The PGA would be taking blood money and officially partnering with a murderous sand monster dictator.

But there is reason to believe that the PGA Tour beat the Saudis senseless.

The LIV Tour never established any sort of visible presence in the United States.

The only television network willing to partner with the LIV Tour was “CW,” and the Saudis paid to have the network broadcast the tournaments.

Undoubtedly, the Saudis offered the major networks billions more and were turned down.

Instead, as The Athletic describes, the Tour humiliatingly appeared “alongside reboots of “Walker, Texas Ranger” and the latest edition of “World’s Funniest Animals.”

The LIV Tour wanted Tiger Woods — badly. The Saudis offered Woods between $700-$800 million dollars just to play, not win.

Woods, the son of a former Green Beret, turned the offer down. Woods’s popularity is so powerful that a real television deal may have been reached if Woods joined the tour.

By turning down nearly a billion dollars, Woods lifted an already improving public reputation after a significant fall.

In one sense, rather than enhancing the Saudis’ reputation, the LIV Tour demonstrated how much the U.S. public rejected blood money and Saudi Arabia generally.

Thus, outwardly, the LIV Tour failed to fulfill its sole function.

The Saudis also sullied their reputation by partnering with Donald Trump shortly after January 6th.

And even though many professional golfers have played with Trump, the majority of the American public doesn’t support Trump.

The Saudis likely thought that partnering with Trump would ensure that Trump’s supporters would demand coverage and prove beneficial, like many of their questionable deals with Trump.

It wasn’t.

Most Trump supporters aren’t golfers, a sport requiring expensive equipment, greens fees, and free time. And most Americans don’t support Trump.

By all outward appearances, the PGA Tour held all the cards in talks regarding a “merger.”

The PGA Tour would be in a position to dictate the terms and diminish Saudi control or presence.

But this is why the public needs to see the details which are not available according to CNBC’s report:

“The two entities signed an agreement that would combine the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s commercial businesses and rights into a new, yet-to-be-named for-profit company. The agreement includes DP World Tour, also known as the European PGA Tour.”

The fact that a third entity is involved would indicate that the Saudi’s control would be further watered down.

But per CNBC, “The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (which owned the LIV Tour) is prepared to invest billions of new capital into the new entity.

The Saudis may try to use raw cash to “buy” a prominent presence in the merged tour.

But yet again, most Americans rejected the Saudi-backed whitewashing tour, perhaps knowing that new details regarding the Saudi involvement in 9-11 are “out there” but not released.

Additionally, most Americans reject Donald Trump, who, by all appearances, is about to be indicted on federal charges.

Like Tiger Woods, the PGA and DP Tour may be prepared to turn down a lot of cash, out of fear that the more public the partnership, the more Saudi control, the more U.S. and European golf fans would reject the endeavor.

We need to see the details.

Many Americans and Europeans will punish the partnership if the details are kept secret, presuming the PGA tour gave in to accept blood money, allowing the Saudis a prominent presence.

If the PGA Tour accepted billions but still maintained control of the tour and can minimize any Saudi “presence” or influence, then the PGA just robbed the Saudis and trashed Trump in the process.

That’s a win for the PGA Tour and Americans.

The public must know whether the PGA Tour sold out or whether the Saudis’ attempt to sportswash itself proved impossible, with prominent blood stains remaining.

The details will be the “score,” and reveal who made the putt to win.

Someone “won.” There are no ties in professional golf.

I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on Twitter @JasonMiciak. 

Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.

Jason Miciak

Jason Miciak is an associate editor and opinion writer for Occupy Democrats. He's a Canadian-American who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a trained attorney, but for the last five years, he's devoted his time to writing political news and analysis. He enjoys life on the Gulf Coast as a single dad to a 15-year-old daughter. Hobbies include flower pots, cooking, and doing what his daughter tells him they're doing. Sign up to get all of my posts by email right here: