PGA’s Shameless Cave to the Saudis

The PGA Tour’s announcement of its merger with the Saudi fund behind LIV Golf to create a new entity — “name TBD” — is a stunning turnabout.

The Tuesday announcement shocked players, who were not given advance notice of the agreement. In taking the easy way out to avoid litigation and the loss of talent, the PGA Tour has shown itself to be complicit in Saudi Arabia’s “sportswashing,” disingenuous in its protestations about the kingdom’s human-rights record, and contemptuous toward those players who had taken a stand to resist the gobs of Saudi cash being dangled in front of them. (Tiger Woods turned down an offer that would have been worth $700 million to $800 million.)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman got what he wanted: international legitimacy that no diplomatic summit could provide. The deal is another indication that Saudi Arabia is at little risk of becoming the “pariah” then-candidate Joe Biden once pledged to make it (although that was probably never really in the offing).

The arrangement, if approved, abruptly concludes a battle that started with LIV Golf’s founding in 2021 as a rival to the PGA Tour. Backed by a $600 billion fund, the project boasted golf legend Greg Norman as commissioner and lured stars such as Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka.