Brandel did bring up an interesting point/scenario.

If the US Justice Department were to nix the merger, would a ton of players defect to LIV because they feel betrayed by the PGA tour?

I'm thinking he might well be right. I think this will forever put a stain on the tours credibility if Jay Monahan remains the Comm.

I agree. If the LIV guys struggled in all the majors, this merger would've been put off a while longer IMO

JCA1 said:

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lazuras_dc said:

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I agree. If the LIV guys struggled in all the majors, this merger would've been put off a while longer IMO

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This was about money and only money. Finishes in the PGA had nothing to do with it.

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And according to some it was really about money problems. PGA lawyer bills were mounting up and they weren't flush with capital after the covid losses, investments into their headquarters, etc. They were vulnerable.

Bunk Moreland said:

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JCA1 said:

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lazuras_dc said:

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I agree. If the LIV guys struggled in all the majors, this merger would've been put off a while longer IMO

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This was about money and only money. Finishes in the PGA had nothing to do with it.

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And according to some it was really about money problems. PGA lawyer bills were mounting up and they weren't flush with capital after the covid losses, investments into their headquarters, etc. They were vulnerable.

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I think that is very likely. PGAT got huge cash payment and PIF got an equity stake in the PGAT. I'm guessing the PIF also agreed to kill off LIV but that won't be announced for a while.

I don't know why you think that. I think LIV will exist as a sort of all star league with limited annual events and continue the team aspect.

You are right about make up of the board. But JM cannot make this decision unilaterally. He may know he has the votes but from reports he was the only one from thevPGAT who knew of this agreement. And I may be PollyAnna, but I think the board or least some of them will take the players wishes into consideration. One game changer would be how the lawyers think the litigation is going.

Bunk Moreland said:

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I don't know why you think that. I think LIV will exist as a sort of all star league with limited annual events and continue the team aspect.

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I'm guessing that because the PGAT schedule is rumored to remain the same next year, there was an announcement of a way back to the Tour for LIV golfers (but no corresponding announcement about how current Tour guys might go to LIV), and they said they would review LIV at the end of the season to make a decision on its future. Sounds like they're laying the groundwork to shut it down.

It's also a huge money loser, so not sure why the PIF would continue pour money into going forward now that they own a stake an an actually profitable tour.

As for some all star league, I think that would be a tough buy in from the top players after a full PGAT schedule.

Broncos said:

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AgOutsideAustin said:

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Phil broke the pga tour lol

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Brooks broke it winning the PGA Championship

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That definitely helped.

But' let's be real here, FIGJAM earned his nickname with this move. He risked a lot and took quite the beating including being excluded from Majors to carry the ball on this one.

Bunk Moreland said:

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JCA1 said:

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lazuras_dc said:

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I agree. If the LIV guys struggled in all the majors, this merger would've been put off a while longer IMO

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This was about money and only money. Finishes in the PGA had nothing to do with it.

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And according to some it was really about money problems. PGA lawyer bills were mounting up and they weren't flush with capital after the covid losses, investments into their headquarters, etc. They were vulnerable.

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Bad leadership has consequences.

Go Mystics!!!!

From from No Laying Up was on the Hardline this afternoon and he said he would bet LIV plays out the rest of their season and then goes away

What kind of ******* goes from trotting out 9/11 families to protect his salary to making this statement.

Tuesday morning's announcement from the PGA Tour hailed its deal to merge operations with LIV Golf as a "landmark agreement to unify the game" and end the contentious litigation between the competing golf tours.

Who actually owns the PGA Tour? Did Monahan and Dunne have unilateral power to execute that agreement? Would be interested to hear what the actual structure is.

JCA1 said:

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Most of the reason LIV was losing money was due to the collusion of the PGAT and their media partners and sponsors. That's over now.

I think ultimately PGAT schedule will get trimmed a little, and LIV will remain an entity. And the top guys on that tour would love to play the LIV events because they'll pay them out the ass.

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We'll see. I definitely acknowledge I could be wrong but sponsors want eyeballs and liv just has no following. LIV was streamed for free on the largest streaming platform in the world and no one watched. Can't blame the PGAT for that.

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LIV in its current state has no eyeballs… times they are a changing. I'd be willing to bet a new tv contract is on the horizon and the current teams will be completely different this time next year with many of the current PGA stars playing.

_lefraud_ said:

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A full PGAT schedule won't be a thing as they no longer need the tournaments/sponsors to have 50+ events with top players. The "PGAT" schedule will be trimmed way down, at least the one that's played by the big time players, as they'll play "LIV" events too.

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Maybe. Not saying it's not possible. But my guess is the PGAT wouldn't enter into this deal if it disrupted their business model that much. That means tournaments and their sponsors are going away and the bulk of the tour now doesn't have a place to play for a significant portion of the year. At a minimum, if that's the intention, it will need to be communicated to a ton of players, partners, etc.

You're not getting in, man.

The PGAT no longer needs said sponsors, at least not like before.

Legal Custodian said:

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From from No Laying Up was on the Hardline this afternoon and he said he would bet LIV plays out the rest of their season and then goes away

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It'd be interesting to see one of those liv contracts and what happens if the league dissolves.

CyclingAg82 said:

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Tough day for Brandel Chamblee.......

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Suicide watch.

Rory putting for par at the next LIV Event pic.twitter.com/oTrSsAsJvS

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) June 6, 2023

MarathonAg12 said:

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Rory putting for par at the next LIV Event pic.twitter.com/oTrSsAsJvS

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) June 6, 2023

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perfect

DannyDuberstein said:

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AgLA06 said:

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Broncos said:

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AgOutsideAustin said:

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Phil broke the pga tour lol

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Brooks broke it winning the PGA Championship

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That definitely helped.

But' let's be real here, FIGJAM earned his nickname with this move. He risked a lot and took quite the beating including being excluded from Majors to carry the ball on this one.

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He was not excluded from majors.

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He was forced to withdraw from the PGA because of his opening comments supporting LIV.

JCA1 said:

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_lefraud_ said:

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You're not getting in, man.

The PGAT no longer needs said sponsors, at least not like before.

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I don't read this as PIF agreeing to fund Tour purses in perpetuity. They are forming a for-profit entity and PIF is buying equity in it. Basically an angel investor. While that will be a big cash infusion, it's likely a one-time infusion. Here's $2 billion and we get 20% of all profits going forward (or something like that). But the Tour will still need to run much like it does now. If you have a different understanding, then please enlighten us. This is all brand new.

Secondarily, i don't think Monahan could commit to such a drastic change to the Tour on his own. He'd need to run that by a ton of people. That's also why I think this is basically just about taking on an investor, not reorganizing the sport.

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Jeff Ogilvy told the golf channel today that Monahan stated this has been in the works for more than 7 weeks. So basically around the Masters and before the decisions about the Ryder Cup teams. I think a lot of execs were in on this, but they all knew that if it leaked, the PR would crush them. So they did it in secret and announced after there was no chance to back out due to public pressure.

As for the sponsorship, I am sure there will be other sponsors, but it seems like that's contingent on PIF agreeing with them coming on board. Nobody knows what shape that takes, but it'll be interesting to see if brands that were anti-SA (at least publicly on social media) will be allowed into the party once this thing gets humming.

A year ago Monahan was interviewed during the RBC and said no one on the PGAT has ever had to apologize about where they play golf. I wish there was video from that players meeting today because he got lit up by them.