Liv tyler

Rory McIlroy is hoping this year’s Ryder Cup will be free of the “noise” surrounding the LIV Golf saga. McIlroy has found himself at the centre of the drama involving the PGA Tour ‘s dispute with the LIV setup over the past year.

The Northern Irishman proved to be one of the Saudi-backed league’s most vocal critics, but has opted to take a step back from the off-course drama to focus on his efforts on the course in recent months. McIlroy’s option to drop away from the drama came in the midst of the PGA Tour’s truce with its rival circuit.

In June the Tour confirmed it had r eached a shock framework agreement with LIV’s Middle Eastern backers, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).

Despite the peace talks, professional golf’s off-course drama is far from over with negotiations over the proposed deal continuing. Amid the politics, McIlroy is hoping the power of the Ryder Cup can revert the focus back onto the course for at least one week, similar to the 150th Open Championship last July.

Speaking at this week’s BMW PGA Championship, he said: “I feel like this Ryder Cup is a bit like the 150th Open at St Andrews last year where all of that noise went away for the four days that we were playing, at least. Yeah, there’s just some tournaments that in our game that are bigger and more important than all of that stuff, and obviously the Ryder Cup is right at the top of the list.

“So yeah, at the end of the day it’s about competition and about sport and competing at the highest level, and that’s what the Ryder Cup is.” Last year’s Open came in the midst of the chaos between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed league, taking place just weeks after the Tour had decided to ban players who had defected to LIV Golf.

The 150th edition of golf’s most historic event provided a much-needed break from the dispute though, with the focus firmly back on the dealings on the course rather than off it. Whilst tensions are much lower 14 months on, there is still plenty of work to be done between the two former rivals.

On the back of the agreement announcement in June, those negotiating the peace treaty have been set a deadline of December 31 to finalise a deal. As mentioned by McIlroy, the players will no doubt be keen to focus on their golfing exploits in Rome, having vented their frustations over the handling of the agreement in the aftermath of the announcement.

The latest issue facing Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has doubt cast over the time frame of negotiations, but speaking at last month’s Tour Championship, the American expressed his confidence at the end-of-year deadline being met. “We’re confident that we’re going to reach a positive outcome for the PGA Tour,” Monahan said. “And as it relates to reason not to believe or believe, you know, at this point, given what Tyler [Duncan] just outlined and what I said, no, I don’t have any reason to think that we won’t be successful.”

T he PGA is looking for money from U.S. investors in case its merger with LIV Golf doesn’t get approved by its players or politicians.

In June 2022, the first LIV Golf event teed off outside of London. The new tour offered players larger prizes, more flexibility, and ambitions to attract new fans to the sport, including new 54-hole, shotgun start format, promised to be different. It even got a TV deal . Immediately following the official start of that tournament, the PGA Tour announced that all 17 PGA Tour players participating in the LIV Golf event were suspended and ineligible to compete in PGA Tour events.

Tensions between the two golf entities continued to rise, as more players defected to LIV , including Phil Mickelson. Eventually, LIV filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing the PGA Tour of anticompetitive practices, and the Department of Justice launched an investigation.

Then in June, the two entities signed a surprise agreement that would combine the PGA Tour’s 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 PGA European Tour. PGA players were furious about the deal , which had all the subtlety of a shotgun wedding.

U.S. politicians are probing the merger because LIV Golf is financed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and some view the deal as a takeover of an American institution by dirty, foreign money. In July the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a three-hour hearing on PGA Tour’s planned merger with Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf. Senator. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who chaired the panel, was most critical of the deal, repeatedly urging PGA Tour officials not to go through with it. Republicans, led by Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, were more supportive. If green lighted by politician, PGA tour players would still have to approve the merger .

Now the PGA Tour is looking at taking on U.S, investors. Bloomberg reported yesterday that “High-profile US investors are being considered to help finance the PGA Tour’s transaction with Saudi-backed LIV Golf in an effort to ease political opposition to the deal.” The article noted that the interest from U.S. investors was unsolicited. But a U.S. investor with interests in a few sports teams tells Forbes that the PGA is seeking U.S. money in case the PGA players vote down the merger with LIV golf. “The PGA needs the money,” he said.

As I wrote a year ago, the PGA has behaved like a stale monopoly for many years. It has caused some of its players to grumble about a lack of financial disclosure, paid its executives too much and failed to deliver for its customers, who often don’t even know where their favorite golfers are going to play. In short, LIV golf exposed the PGA Tour is an undervalued asset that could significantly more valuable if it were run properly.

Money, of course, is fungible and it will flow to an undervalued asset one way or another. As another person with multiple investments in top-tier sports teams told Forbes , “The Saudi’s use money in sports to clean their reputation. Now they need U.S. sports investors to clean up that investment.”

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After a whirlwind 15 months in the world of golf, the sport can once again focus on the drama on the course rather than off it, as the Ryder Cup makes its return this week.

Team Europe will host their American rivals on home soil at Marco Simone, bidding to win back the title they lost last time out at Whistling Straits. It was a record-breaking victory for the United States, as they brushed aside the Europeans 19-9 in Wisconsin.

Two years on though it is fair to say the professional golfing landscape is in a totally different place to where it was when Steve Stricker and his 12 players lifted the Ryder Cup trophy into the air.

The emergence of LIV Golf last June saw the sport split in two, as the breakaway league found itself in a battle with the PGA Tour at the top of the golfing pyramid. Throughout the ugly civil war, one of the biggest debates was how the dispute would effect this year’s Ryder Cup.

And whilst the matchplay event was often a long way in the distance during the dispute, it was often the topic of conversation with many of those involved connected to either Team Europe or Team USA.

From ineligible players to a brutal captain’s sacking, here is look into how the Ryder Cup found itself caught up in arguably the ugliest period in the history of professional golf.

Ban threats

Ahead of LIV Golf’s inaugural event at Centurion Club in June 2022, a whole host of big name players were linked with, and eventually joined by the breakaway circuit. This came as a shock to many after players were warned of a whole host of repercussions if they were to make the Saudi switch.

One of which was a potential ban from the Ryder Cup, which would have been tough to hear for a select group of defectors. In total eight of the 24 players that competed at Whistling Straits joined the LIV setup, including three of Europe’s greatest players in Sergio Garcia , Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood .

On the back of the switch, Westwood addressed the potential of being banned from the Ryder Cup at the maiden event, commenting: “It’s something I have to take into account [a Ryder Cup ban], I’m not sure about the playing days, I’m 50 next April. Captaincy could be in jeopardy as well, but Ian pretty much covered it all.

“What I will say is that myself and Ian [Poulter] have been members of the PGA Tour while we’ve been on the European Tour and that’s had no effect in the past on whether people have been captains. LIV Golf is another tour so why should it be any different?” Eventually a ‘ban’ so to speak was not enforced, but those competing on the breakaway circuit have felt the effects, more to come on that later.

Henrik Stenson sacked

The man tasked in leading the Europeans to redemption in Rome was Henrik Stenson , but just four months later the Swede was sacked. This came after Stenson opted to join Westwood and co in making the LIV move, one that did not sit well with Team Europe bosses.

Since making the Saudi switch the former Open champion has banked a cool £7.3 million in prize money, but this has not been enough to fully repair the wound of his Ryder Cup sacking, after telling the New York Post in July that he still had a feeling of ‘disappointment’ one year after being relieved of his duties.

Player resignations

Amid the formation of LIV Golf, both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour found themselves in legal disputes with their new-found rival, with playing rights the biggest topic of conversation. For the DP World Tour it was a case of wanting to both fine and suspend their playing members for making the move to the LIV setup.

In their defence a group of group of rebel players had requested ‘conflicted event’ releases in a bid to thwart off any type of punishment. Nine months after the dispute kicked off, Sports Resolutions finally ruled in favour of DP World Tour bosses, which had adverse effects for the European Ryder Cup team.

Having been fined by the Wentworth-based circuit, Europe’s iconic trio of Garcia, Westwood and Poulter all resigned their Tour memberships . Not only did this see them give up the opportunity to play on the DP World Tour, but it also saw them become ineligible to represent their continent in the matchplay event.

Brooks Koepka called up

After months and months of debate as to whether LIV Golf players would compete at Marco Simone, one rebel player was finally given the nod in American Brooks Koepka . Despite his PGA Tour suspension, Koepka catapulted up the U.S. Ryder Cup rankings after a tied-second finish at the Masters and a victory at the PGA Championship in May.

This saw the five-time major winner occupy an automatic spot in the standings until the very final week of qualifying, before being pipped on the final day by Xander Schauffele. Despite falling out of the top six, Koepka became impossible to ignore for captain Zach Johnson, who named him as one of his six skipper picks earlier this month.

Koepka is the only man from the breakaway league across both the American setup and Team Europe to be competing in Rome this week.

Sergio Garcia’s last-ditch effort

The biggest name absent from Luke Donald ‘s European team is that of Garcia, and amid his absence the Spaniard made a last-ditch attempt to make himself available for Ryder Cup selection. Per The Telegraph , Garcia reached out to DP World Tour bosses to regain his eligibility, paying off £700,000 in owed fines to the Wentworth-based circuit.

The Spaniard’s late bid was a failed one though, with the Tour rejecting his offer due to him resigning his membership earlier this year. A DP World Tour spokesperson confirmed Garcia and co will be eligible to reapply for membership next season.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has offered a fresh update on the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).

Monahan shocked the world of golf in June, after confirming the Tour had reached an agreement with PIF that would see them work in unison with their LIV Golf rivals after a 12-month feud. In the weeks following details on what comes next in regard to the proposed ‘merger’ have remained sparse.

Soon after the announcement was made, Tour boss Monahan was forced to take a leave of absence , citing medical issues for his decision to take a temporary step back. He has since made a return to his post, but has come under huge pressure on the back of the PIF deal.

In recent weeks doubt on the final framework that any agreement has crept in amongst players, with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler claiming the PGA Tour has a ‘long way to go’ in its negotiations with PIF, whilst Tom Hoge claimed it was a ‘very real possibility’, that the deal could fall through.

Amid the speculation Monahan has opened up on what comes next for the Tour ahead of the ‘proposed merger’ with the LIV setup. Speaking at this week’s Tour Championship, the commissioner confirmed that ‘frequent talks’ had been held with their Saudi counterparts.

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Addressing the doubt cast on the agreement officially being signed off, Monahan claimed that the circuit’s leadership were: ” Confident that we will reach a positive outcome for the PGA Tour,” adding that there is ‘no reason’ to think the deal will not be finalised by January 1.

One of the dark clouds hanging over the proposed deal was the legal litigation between the two parties, which had been at the forefront of the Tour’s battle with LIV Golf for almost a year. Monahan however confirmed this court battle had now been ended.

“We have put an end to the divisive and distracting litigation,” he added. “We have safeguards in place to control the future. I am confident we will reach an agreement that will have a positive impact for the PGA Tour and our fans. I’m confident in that.”

LIV Golf star Talor Gooch has turned his attention to winning the breakaway circuit’s 2023 end-of-season titles after missing out on a place in Zach Johnson ‘s Ryder Cup team.

Gooch battled his way into contention to make a first Ryder Cup appearance earlier this year, after winning three LIV Golf titles in three months. Whilst his fine form on the breakaway circuit earned him a mention in the Ryder Cup conversation, the American knew he needed an impressive showing in golf’s four majors to really make his case.

But a run in the majors did not come, after he missed the cut at both the PGA Championship and The Open , whilst failing to qualify for the U.S. Open in June. By the time selection came around in September, Gooch appeared to be well out the loop – as did many of his fellow LIV members.

From his six captain’s picks Johnson named just one player from the Saudi-backed league in his team. Brooks Koepka earning a call-up on the back of his fifth major win at the PGA Championship in May. Despite the Ryder Cup disappointment, Gooch does not appear to be resting on his laurels.

The American has now turned his attention back to what is up for grabs on the breakaway circuit, after finding himself in a strong position to win both LIV’s individual, and team, championships. In the individual standings Gooch sits second behind leader Cam Smith, whilst his RangeGoats team find themselves in fifth.

With two events in the regular individual season to go Gooch is battling against strong opposition at the top in Smith, Koepka and Patrick Reed. Keen to go toe-to-toe with the league’s biggest names in a title battle, he told LIV Golf: “To be able to beat those guys over the course of a season is no easy task.

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“So if you’re able to do it, I think that speaks volumes so hopefully we can do that the next two tournaments.” Hoping to do the same with his RangeGoats teammates too, he went on: “We got four guys that can win any week. Thomas [Pieters] hasn’t had a great season… but, we all know he’s a great player.

“And Bubba has shown some signs of being Bubba. And obviously, Harold [Varner III] and I played well and so at any point in time any of the four of us can carry the torch for this team. And you know for us, we got to keep being us and we know that Bubba and Thomas are going to play great, it’s just a matter of time, and Harold and I need to keep it up.”

The race for LIV individual season-long crown will come to an end in its penultimate event of the campaign in Jeddah on October 15. A week later the 2023 campaign will come to an end when the league’s 12 teams contest for the team championship at Trump Doral in Miami.