The LIV Golf League caused an earthquake in the sport when it first emerged in 2022.
With heavy financial backing from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the league led by the ex-commissioner Greg Norman attracted a host of top players and big names with huge sign-up fees.
A form of transfer and player movement is alien to golf, but the breakaway tour has broken new ground on this front as well. Players have always earned well on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour for as long as they’ve been near the top of the leaderboard.
But when LIV Golf launched its schedule, with each event worth $25 million in prize money, this caused the PGA Tour to react and plot a plan of elevated events with elevated purses. Golfers have never had such riches dangling, ready to grab.
Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau are just a handful of players the Saudi-funded tour lured. And they’ve all pocketed handsome sums of money in the process.
Controversy and criticism stemmed from each player’s move, with the perception being they had chosen money despite the risk of being ineligible for the Ryder Cup and running out of exemptions to some of the majors.
In June 2023, a framework agreement was announced between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund. Appearing as a peace deal, it looked like a type of joint schedule between PGA Tour and LIV players was in the offing.
LIV players felt somewhat vindicated by their decisions now that the league was legitimised by golf’s main tour establishment but, by the start of 2025, a formal agreement hadn’t been reached.
