PGA now owned by Saudi Arabian Government

VIA SBINSIDER | June, 2023

LIV golf turned the staid world of golf upside down since its inception. Announced in 2019, the first LIV golf event was held in June, 2022 and has attracted many of the top players in competitive golf. The origin\sponsor of the new tour group is Saudi Arabia and they have been accused of “sportswashing” which is defined as a way of improving their country’s image. Hard to do when your country thinks women are the same as cattle and your government structure is from the 14th century. You can just hear the cry ” Our Kingdom for their course” apologies to Shakespeare.

The PGA had taken LIV to court and experts predicted years of legal wrangling and meanwhile more players were migrating to LIV for the one reason that they all play competitive golf-money.

Until this week. In a sports-shattering announcement, the PGA and LIV announced that a merger was going to happen! The commissioner of the PGA, Jay Monahan, who had been a staunch defender of the PGA system, capitulated to the inevitable. The only reason the PGA existed was to generate more players, oversee the rules of play and promote the sport for the prize money. LIV stepped in with more money and bought the players.

So, effectively, the PGA is a now a subsidiary of the government of Saudi Arabia and the players are now its employees.

The Biden Administration has predictably huffed and puffed that they are launching an anti-trust investigation, as this merger might create a monopoly. So silly-as if the PGA was not a monopoly before LIV arrived on the scene? Wait for the Biden people to leak that National Security issues might be at stake…

Golfers in SaddleBrooke are generally not impressed with the merger; one remarked it was a “hostile take-over” and many agreeing “this is all about the money.” True, but again, the whole purpose of turning professional is to make as much money as possible by competing in and winning tournaments.

LIV comes to SaddleBrooke?

It has been rumored that as part of the LIV hostile take-over they may be creating a Amateur Senior Tour that would feature the best amateur players from the premier retirement communities in the USA-like SaddleBrooke, Sara Bay Country Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Tehama Golf Club and so on. The tour would rotate among the courses and award serious prize money to the contestants. When asked LIV replied it had no comment “at this time’.