What’s next after the surprising alliance in professional golf? German professionals ask themselves the same question. They highlight the positive for themselves.
After the completely unexpected alliance of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour with the LIV Tour, which was previously at odds and financed from Saudi Arabia, German golf professionals are looking forward to further developments in their business.
“None of us know where the journey is going,” said Marcel Siem before the start of the BMW Open in Eichenried near Munich. It’s dangerous to say anything about it, because you don’t get a lot of information either. “We can all only hope that things are going in the right direction,” said the 42-year-old from Ratingen, who is teeing off at the tournament in Munich that begins on Thursday.
You should see “the positives” that there’s more budget and you’re playing for more prize money, Siem said. The veteran Alexander Cejka agreed. “We’re all happy that we have a job. It could have turned out differently,” said the 52-year-old, who mainly plays on the US senior tour. Nobody knows in which direction it is going. The decision came overnight, nobody was aware of it. “We’ll have to wait and see what comes up,” he said. One can only speculate about more.
merger shattered golf world
The surprising alliance had previously resulted in horror and incomprehension among many golf professionals. According to the announcement, a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund (PIF), which was previously involved in the LIV Tour, is now also a shareholder in a new joint organization. With the agreement to work together in the future, all pending legal disputes between the parties involved were ended by mutual agreement. In addition, after the 2023 season, opportunities should be created for players to return from the LIV Tour to the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour.
The LIV tournaments have been criticized since their debut in June 2022 because of the millions invested from Saudi Arabia. The background is that the country, which has been criticized for human rights violations, is trying to improve its image with lucrative sporting events. Numerous top golfers followed the call of money and switched to the competing series – including the German Martin Kaymer.
Now the Saudi state fund PIF (Public Investment Fund) is part of a new company that is to bundle the business of the tours.
Source: Stern
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