PGA-LIV merger LIVE: Rory McIlroy speaks to media and latest golf news and updates

A range of emotions will have coursed through Rory McIlroy over the last 24 hours. Shock, confusion and betrayal from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s deceitful negotiations with the PIF’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan and the seismic move to “merge” the PGA Tour and its previously bitter rival LIV Golf.

McIlroy let us in week after week during golf’s civil war, he sacrificed his time and tournament preparation and resisted a reported $300 million signing bonus from the Saudis. Now, he’ll wonder, for what? We now know that Monahan used him merely to deflect and absorb scrutiny over his leadership as the sport’s legal squabble rumbled on, perhaps from the PGA Tour’s perspective uncontrollably. A habit of being reactive, rather than proactive, evidently backed the PGA Tour into a corner. And here we are.

Football

Saudi financing was believed to be behind plans back in 2018 to expand the FIFA Club World Cup, and while those plans were abandoned, Saudi influence has grown steadily since.

The purchase of an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle in 2021 by the PIF after a protracted takeover remains the most obvious Saudi interest in the sport from a UK perspective, but its ambitions have not stopped there.

There is heavy investment going on to bring some of the world’s top stars to Saudi Arabia. Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January, his former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema completed his move to Al Ittihad on Tuesday and Lionel Messi is in the sights of Al Hilal. All three clubs are to be majority-owned by the PIF - along with Al Ahli - as part of a government probe to privatise ownership in top-level sport.

The PIF has a net value estimated at over £500billion.

Benzema is set to feature for Al Ittihad at December’s Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia, a tournament which will feature Manchester City if they beat Inter Milan in Saturday’s Champions League final.

Saudi Arabia is also reported to be providing the financing for a new Super League in Africa.

Golf

Tuesday’s announcement concerning the merger of LIV, the PGA and the DP World Tours at commercial level is hugely significant, with some observers saying this was less a merger and more a takeover of the whole sport by Saudi Arabia at the elite level.

The PIF will provide the initial financial backing for the new entity and have the exclusive right to further invest, and a first refusal on any other capital to be invested. The PIF governor Yasir Al Rumayyan - who is also the chairman of Newcastle - will be the new body’s chairman.

Formula One

Reports surfaced earlier this year that the PIF was looking to buy the series, but that its owner Liberty Media was unwilling to sell.

Nevertheless, Saudi company Aramco is one of F1’s top-tier ‘global partner’ sponsors and since 2021 the country has staged a grand prix every season, with the most recent race taking place on March 19 this year.

Boxing

The country has become a venue of choice for promoters in recent years, with British heavyweight Anthony Joshua having fought there in 2019 and 2022.

The Sun reported in April that Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn was in talks over a further trip to Saudi Arabia in December, this time as part of a four-man tournament also featuring Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Deontay Wilder.

Critics of the regime say the country, under its de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are using sport to give the country legitimacy, to effectively ‘sportswash’ its reputation given a long history of human rights abuses in the kingdom.

For its part, Saudi Arabia sees sport as a crucial part of its ‘Vision 2030’ strategy. The country is investing heavily in many sectors as it seeks to diversify its economy away from its finite oil reserves, with sport being one of them.

Investment in sport is aimed, so those who speak for the Saudis say, at encouraging grassroots participation in sport among men and women and at creating a professional elite-level environment for Saudi athletes, national teams and clubs across all sports to thrive.

Leaders of the PGA Tour should be “ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed” in agreeing a deal with Saudi-backed LIV Golf, according to a group representing relatives of victims of 9/11.

After a turbulent year in the sport since the creation of the LIV Golf Tour, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, a surprise deal was announced on Tuesday to work with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour (the European tour) on commercial matters.

But with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) backing the new, joint venture, 9/11 Families United said it is “shocked and deeply offended” by the move which it says is “bankrolled by billions of sportswashing money”.

A statement from the group said: “Saudi operatives played a role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and now it is bankrolling all of professional golf.”

Rory McIlroy was reportedly involved in an angry exchange at a meeting of PGA Tour players as commissioner Jay Monahan attempted to justify the shock declaration of peace in golf’s civil war.

McIlroy and Tiger Woods had established themselves as the biggest supporters of the PGA Tour in its battle with LIV Golf, but were both kept in the dark about the stunning deal announced on Tuesday.

Fellow players reacted with surprise and a sense of betrayal at the news that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour were merging their commercial operations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf.

The announcement came after 12 months of unprecedented disruption in the men’s professional game following the launch of LIV, which held its first event from June 9-11 in 2022 in Hertfordshire.

Monahan faced calls to resign at a 75-minute players’ meeting which he described as “intense and certainly heated”, with his previous comments that anyone who took LIV money would never play on the PGA Tour again cited and greeted with applause, according to former player Johnson Wagner.

Golf Channel reported that Wagner had access to an audio feed of the meeting and that McIlroy told world number 227 Grayson Murray to “just play better” as Murray criticised Monahan.

Murray responded by telling McIlroy to “f*** off”, although another player, Wesley Bryan, later confirmed the exchange on social media before adding: “They were cordial and pleasant post meeting.

“We chatted as a group of players and we were laughing about the comment. No beef or hard feelings either way.”

Rory McIlroy was set to address the media on Wednesday for the first time since the shock declaration of peace in golf’s civil war.

McIlroy and Tiger Woods had established themselves as the biggest supporters of the PGA Tour in its battle with LIV Golf, but both were kept in the dark about the stunning deal announced on Tuesday.

Fellow players reacted with surprise and a sense of betrayal at the news that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour were merging their commercial operations with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.

The announcement came after 12 months of unprecedented disruption in the men’s professional game following the launch of LIV, which held its first event from June 9-11 in 2022 in Hertfordshire.

Defending champion McIlroy was scheduled to give a press conference ahead of the RBC Canadian Open following the pre-tournament pro-am on Wednesday.

One of the key players in the rise of LIV Golf and an enabler for this eventual merger has been Phil Mickelson.

After a controversial move, Mickelson did not waste any time revelling in the seismic agreement that will change the face of golf forever.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan lauded “a landmark agreement ... on a global basis” after striking a deal with LIV Golf.

“There’s been a lot of tension in our sport over the last couple years,” Monahan told CNBC. “What we’re talking about today is coming together to unify the game of golf, and to do so under one umbrella.

“We’ve recognized that together, we can have a far greater impact on this game than we can working apart. The game of golf is better for what we’ve done here today.”

The CEO of LIV Golf, for the time being, has reacted to the news of the Saudi-backed league merging with the PGA Tour.

Greg Norman, who proved divisive with many of the PGA Tour loyalists, was reportedly unaware of the negotiations until moments before the announcement.