U.S. Justice Department To Investigate PGA Tour Merger With Saudi-Funded LIV Golf

The U.S. Department of Justice will review a proposed deal between the PGA tour and the Saudi Arabian owners of LIV Golf to determine whether it violates federal antitrust laws.

In a public statement, the PGA Tour said, “We are confident that once all stakeholders learn more about how the PGA Tour will lead this new venture, they will understand how it benefits our players, fans and sport while protecting the American institution of golf.”

The PGA Tour, European tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, or Public Investment Fund (PIF), negotiated secretly for two months about a merger. The deal would allow the PGA Tour, European tour and PIF to combine commercial business into an autonomous, for-profit entity. None of the players were made aware of the agreement prior to its announcement.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan would be made CEO of the new company while Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, would act as chairman. Monahan stated that the PGA Tour would be the majority equity investor and hold the majority of board seats while the PIF would be a minority investor.

Monahan had previously denounced LIV Golf for stealing their stars with signing bonuses of $100 million or more. The tour suspended players like Phil Mickelson for leaving to go to LIV. This led 11 players as well as LIV to file an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last summer. The PGA Tour filed a lawsuit of its own, but the case was not set to go to trial until 2024 at the earliest.

Part of the motivation for agreeing to the merger deal was to discontinue all past litigation. The PGA Tour had been set back by massive legal fees that were not close to ending.

Last week, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) requested that the Justice Department look into the deal. The senators wrote, “Significantly, the deal appears to have a substantial adverse impact on competition, violating several provisions of U.S. antitrust law, regardless of whether the deal is structured as a merger or some sort of joint venture.”

The pair also claimed that the agreement would allow Saudi Arabia to “sportswash” its “egregious human rights record.”