PGA Tour and LIV Golf Announce Stunning Merger Transcript

Breaking News here on CBS Sports HQ. Major news from the world of golf. The PGA and European Tours have agreed to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf. The agreement ends all pending litigation between the parties and it forms a new collectively owned and as yet unnamed entity.

(00:22)
In a joint announcement, the three organizations said they will cooperate on a process to allow current LIV Golf players a roster, which includes the likes of Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson to reapply for PGA Tour membership after the 2023 season. The tours will also maintain separate oversight but create cohesive schedules.

(00:44)
A statement issued by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.” He went on to say, “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model that combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV.”

(01:09)
So in terms of some facts as what we know now, because there’s obviously a lot to sort through here, mention that players can reapply for PGA Tour membership after the 2023 season, separate event oversight. The agreement includes the DP Tour, the European PGA Tour and ends all pending litigation between the tours themselves.

(01:33)
All right, so as mentioned a lot to dig into here. Let’s get into some of it with one of our golf analysts, Kyle Porter.

(01:38)
Kyle, first of all, let me get your reaction to this. I mean, how historic a day is this for the PGA?

Well, I sat down to my computer this morning, JSL, to preview the Canadian Open to talk about what’s going on on the PGA Tour this week, and this comes across the desk and I’m gobsmacked. I have to say, I have not been … I’m not surprised by a ton that goes on in the world of golf anymore, and I’m absolutely flabbergasted to see this because one of the reasons is everybody who would’ve known about this, players, agents, caddies, maybe not caddies, but people that are in the PGA Tour sort of business were at the PGA Championship two weeks ago. Everybody talks at things like that. People are out. Media’s out. You’re talking to a ton of different people. This was never even hinted at by anyone. This was never even an option. And now all of a sudden it’s happening.

(02:34)
I’m fascinated to see what this merger looks like, how it takes shape over the next couple of years. I think it’s a great day for the major championships, JSL, because I don’t know. When there’s confusion with everything that’s not a major championship, I think it heightens the importance of the major championship. So to me, everything that’s happened over the last couple of years and including this I think is a win for those four major championships.

Well, and we are 364 days from Dustin Johnson resigning from the PGA Tour and now to join LIV. And now we’re looking at a merger. I mean you mentioned the fact that it was so under wraps. I mean on social media, a lot of the players themselves are reacting to this because they didn’t even know. I mean, Collin Morikawa was talking about the fact that it’s great to hear breaking news on social media about an event, about a sport that he plays. Phil Mickelson has said it’s an awesome day today, as well as Brooks Koepka, “A welfare check on Chamblee.” So I mean we’re getting reaction as it comes in, as you see Mickelson’s tweet here.

(03:37)
I mean, Kyle, one of the big questions is, I mean, how is this going to work for the players? I mean, there’s been bad blood between some of these players that have left and now we’re looking at coming and rejoining. I mean, is the PGA and LIV, are they going to have to have a Kumbaya summit to get everybody together on the same page?

Well, I think what’s going to be interesting is, by the way, I’m watching Jay Monahan and the current chief of the LIV Golf league on CNBC together right now, which is just sort of surreal to see.

(04:10)
But to get back to your question, the thing that’s going to be really interesting, JSL, is all these players on the PGA Tour who didn’t take the money, I don’t know that these guys were offered, but think about your big stars, your Collin Morikawa, your Justin Thompson, your Rorys, your Spieth, your Ricky Fowlers, all those guys, they didn’t take the money. And the guys that did are now sort of allowed back in. There’s going to be some animosity. Not between the players. I think the players mostly get along and they understand for the most part why each of them did what they did, but between the players and the management. And now that you have a for-profit organization, apparently that’s being sort of merged together, I think that sort of tension between players and management is going to be tantamount to what we see in other sports.

(05:00)
The players don’t run the league anymore. The players no longer run the league if this is truly a for-profit organization and they’re going to be really frustrated that the management of that league said, “Okay, Brooks Koepka, DJ, you guys get your money and you can still participate in this newly formed league.”

Yeah, you look at DJ, I mean 150 million, Phil got 200, Bryson got 100 million. I mean the PGA has kind of made some moves this year. They’ve elevated a number of events, they’ve increased the purses, but still, I mean, LIV, you’re looking at $4 million for the winner of those events and even last place at least gets 120 grand. They were also looking at expanding from 8 to 14 events. So I mean, how do you see this merger coming together?

(05:44)
I mean, there’s been talk about the fact that Rory’s fatigued, we talked about Phil’s comments about that on the weekend, about the fact that LIV has such a relaxed schedule. But now that you’re kind of joining things together, it seems like there’s going to be more golf, not necessarily less.

Well, I think that’s the big question, and that’s the one my buddy Brendan Porath threw this out on Twitter. He said, “What does merge even mean?” And that’s the big one. And I don’t know if we’re going to get more information today, but again, nobody really knew that any of this was happening to begin with, so it’s hard to know that far down the road. We don’t even know what the schedule is going to look like.

(06:17)
I mean, listen, I was talking to somebody two weeks ago at the PGA Championship about, or excuse me, last week after I got back from the PGA Championship, “Hey, here’s what the schedule for the PGA Tour is going to look like in 2024.” Well, and this is somebody that was helping make the schedule, and now that’s no longer the case and I just don’t really know what’s going on here.

(06:37)
I think it’s going to be fascinating to see what that sort of merged schedule does look like. Are there teams involved in everything? Are there separate events? How does it relate to the majors? What does the money look like? Where does the money come from? All these different things I think are going to be really, really interesting. And again, this truly is a kind of a historic day for golf.

I mean, who benefits most from this in your mind, Kyle?

It’s LIV. I mean truly it is, because I think as we got deeper into this, you mentioned a year ago, Dustin Johnson leaves for LIV and a year later, LIV it’s fine. It’s not really … What is it? Are people paying attention? The TV ratings have been completely taken away. They’re not good. People are attending. The Australia event was really good. The Tulsa event, some of people I know went to that, it was fine. But now their league just gets sort of elevated and in mesh, not even necessarily with the PGA Tour, but with the stars of the PGA Tour. So they get that sort of that glow effect of like, okay, now we’re sort of, and again, it depends on how the schedule looks and what the events look like, but now we’re sort of affiliated with Rory and Spieth and Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa and all these guys, and that’s a big deal for LIV.

(07:57)
I think, again, depending on what the sort of operating agreement looks like and all these different things, I think this is a pretty good outcome for LIV when it started.

Kyle Porter joining us here on CBS Sports HQ to discuss major breaking news, the world of golf undergoing another seismic shift as the PGA and LIV agree to merge. Thanks very much, Kyle.

(08:19)
Let’s take a look at just some of the quick facts of what we know so far as Kyle talked about, and you’re going to hear there’s still a lot to be sorted out. There’s still a lot of things we don’t know, but here’s what we do know. Players can reapply for PGA Tour membership after the 2023 season. There are some big names that are part of that LIV Tour that will be looking to return to the PGA Tour. Separate event oversight, but they will create cohesive schedules, the two events. The agreement includes the DP Tour, the European PGA Tour, and perhaps one of the most important parts is it ends all pending litigation between the two.

Here on HQ we have some major breaking news in golf. The PGA and European Tours have agreed to merge with the Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf. The agreement ends all pending litigation between the parties and informs a new collectively owned and as yet unnamed entity. In a joint announcement, the three organizations said they will cooperate on a process to allow current LIV golf players a roster, which includes the likes of Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson. The list goes on. They’ll all be able to reapply for PGA Tour membership after the 2023 season. The tours will also maintain separate oversight but create cohesive schedules.

(09:35)
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan in a statement on the new agreement said: “After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.” He then went on to say, “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour’s history, legacy, and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV.”

(10:03)
So just kind of some of the facts here as we are piecing things together with this new breaking news of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf agreeing to merge. First off, as we mentioned, players will be allowed to reapply for PGA Tour membership after the 2023 season. That of course pertains to those who defected over to LIV Golf. There’ll be separate event oversight, but they will create cohesive schedules. The agreement includes the DP Tour, which is the European PGA Tour, and ends all pending litigation between the tours.

(10:35)
For now even more on this topic, we bring in our golf expert, Michael Breed. And Michael, what a monumental day for the world of golf.

(10:42)
First, I just want to start with what is your initial reaction hearing this news?

Well, first of all, I’m stunned. I cannot believe what just came across the wire here some 30 or 40 minutes ago. There’s also a part of me that feels betrayed in a strange way. I think that a lot of us were you kind of forced to choose, well, are you on this side or are you on this side? And now all of a sudden there are no sides. We’re all on the same fence.

(11:08)
I also am trying to figure out, well, because I always like to know why? Why would this have happened? And clearly to me, the reason why this would’ve happened is that LIV was putting such pressure on the PGA Tour and the players on the PGA Tour as they start to entice others to go over to LIV, that all of a sudden the PGA Tour was afraid maybe of becoming a feeder tour to the LIV Tour. That’s one of the things that sits in my head, and all of a sudden you go, “Wait a second. The only option that they have is to unite.” That’s the why to me.

(11:38)
So there’s a lot of questions that kind of hang out there, and I think that they’re going to hang out there for a while as we try to make sense of something that … of all the things that you thought could happen in the game of golf, this was probably the least possible thing to happen. There was not a way in the world that I thought the PGA Tour and LIV and the DP World Tour were all going to all of a sudden going to unite and become this one entity. I just didn’t see that coming from anywhere.

Yeah, it seems like money is always a key factor in a lot of these decisions. You had the players who left the PGA Tour to go join LIV bringing home a sizeable amount of money. Is that, in your opinion, the biggest factor for doing this? Because you look at the ratings for LIV Golf and they have not been off the charts by any measure on TV.

I think there’s a lot of factors in this. I think money always plays an important role, and if you ask the people who made the move from the PGA Tour to go to LIV, they would tell you that it was absolutely money as a part of it, no question about it, but also to a lifestyle. I could spend more time with my family.

(12:44)
Well, now how does that argument hang out there? If you’re going to play on the PGA Tour and you’re also going to play LIV, what happens to that? And are we going to have less events on LIV, less events on the PGA Tour? How is that going to work? What happens now to those events or that period of time that was sort of a step-down time after the Ryder Cup and before January 1st, we were going to kind of go into this quiet time. Is the quiet time going to be no longer a quiet time? And that lasted a short period of time.

(13:13)
There’s just so many questions that are hanging out there that you can’t make any sense of. There are a few things that you can make sense of, and one of them is that we are going to see the best players in the world playing against one another. I think that this is also going to allow those individuals that went to LIV to become part of the official world golf rankings again, as they start to get to play in events that you can get official world golf ranking points in.

(13:39)
I think the other thing that this is going to do is this is going to bring more relevance to PGA Tour events as they welcome back individuals who left to go play LIV, and they only saw each other on three or four occasions a year during the major championships.

(13:56)
The other thing that I think that this does is it brings it to real question, what’s going to happen with the Ryder Cup and what’s going to happen with the President’s Cup? Is the President’s Cup going to change? Are we all of a sudden going to see now the President’s Cup become the PGA Tour players against the LIV Golf tour players? As the Ryder Cup is the PGA Tour against the DP World Tour players? There’s just so many questions that are hanging out there that your mind is spinning. I mean, it literally feels like a gut punch because nobody saw this one coming.

Yeah, certainly it’s a situation where we’ll have to find and we’ll figure out a lot more in the coming hours, days, weeks, and months. But right now with what we know, what is the biggest significance of this move? Does this help to grow the game of golf like the release from the PGA Tour said?

Well, I mean, look, I’m not going to go against what Commissioner Monahan has said. He clearly knows way more about this than I do. The meetings have been extremely private. We heard Kyle Porter talk about how he didn’t know anything that was going on. I didn’t know anything that was going on. I don’t know anybody that did know anything that was going on. So it has been incredibly private.

(15:06)
In a place where we always hear leaks of some sort of, “Well, there’s a discussion going on. This is a possibility. This might be happening. He might be going over here.” None of that stuff happened. And so, you kind of sit there and you go, “Well, okay, Commissioner Monahan knows exactly what’s going on.”

(15:24)
Is this going to help grow the game? I certainly think that as these players come together more frequently rather than just in the four majors, then all of a sudden there’s going to be a greater interest in the game professionally as we see Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson and those players from LIV playing more golf with the Rory McIlroys and Scottie Schefflers and Collin Morikawas on the PGA Tour. So I think that’s going to bring much more attention, much more focus on this.

(15:49)
But again, there’s no knowing what’s going to take place. I do think that what this also does is it invites more of a world golf experience where the PGA Tour is principally and primarily an American tour with occasional events going outside of the US. I think what this does now is it certainly invites a lot of events that will take place outside of the US, possibly in Saudi Arabia, certainly in Dubai, that we’re going to see. How is that going to look?

(16:19)
So I think that the schedule is clearly one of the things that needs to be talked about. I think what kind of finances are going to be chucked into this for these players? How frequently are they going to play? And is the frequency of play going to help with growing the game of golf? That’s one that I don’t know the answer to, but I’m sure that there are a lot of different things that are going to take place that we’re going to hear about over the coming weeks and months.

Michael Breed posing some of the questions that we still need answers to, but also giving his insight on this monumental day with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf agreeing to merge. Michael, thank you so much for your time.

(16:56)
To recap some of those facts, in case you’re just now tuning in about this merger for the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, players will be allowed to reapply for PGA Tour membership after the 2023 season. That applies to those in LIV Golf who left the tour. There’ll be separate event oversight, but they will create cohesive schedules. The agreement also includes the DP Tour, which is the European PGA Tour, and this ends all pending litigation between the tours.