Sports fans were stunned on Tuesday when the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour announced that they are merging, but one person who was not surprised is former president Donald Trump.
Trump, who has hosted several LIV Golf events at the courses he owns, said on his Truth Social platform last year that a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV was “inevitable.” Trump wrote on July 19, 2022 that golfers would be wise to “take the money now” rather than remain loyal to the PGA Tour and wind up with nothing but a “thank you” to show for it.
“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of 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. “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.”
While the details of the merger are unclear, Tuesday’s press release stated that the PGA Tour, LIV and the DP World Tour will establish “a fair and objective process for any players who want to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.” On the surface, it would appear that golfers who signed deals with LIV will get to keep their massive signing bonuses and now be able to play in just about any event they’d like. Top players like Dustin Johnson and Cam Smith were paid upwards of $100 million to sign with LIV.
In other words, Trump could not have been more right.
The hypocrisy from the PGA Tour and some of those who cover it is almost unfathomable. Rory McIlroy and others blasted LIV players for taking money from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Now, those same Saudi Arabians are investing billions into a new joint golf entity and will have a major influence over the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
