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LIV Golf: Timeline of a ‘civil war’
Here is a look at the key moments in the establishment and growth of the controversial LIV Golf Tour.
Phil Mickelson was the first big-name PGA Tour player to join LIV Golf. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
The PGA Tour and European Tour have agreed to merge with Saudi-backed rebel circuit LIV Golf in a shock deal that ends the bitter civil war in the sport.
AFP Sport looks at some of the key moments in the split, with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan hailing a “historic day” for golf.
LIV Golf unveils plans
LIV Golf unveiled details of its inaugural season in March 2022, announcing eight events and a staggering $255 million in prize money.
“I want golf to grow, players to have additional opportunities, and fans to have more fun,” said LIV Golf Investments CEO Greg Norman, a former world number one.
The names of players who had signed up to the 54-hole, no-cut events that feature team and individual competition were not revealed.
Mickelson’s move
The following month six-time major winner Phil Mickelson applied for a release from the US-based PGA Tour that would allow him to play in the first LIV event, to be held in June at the Centurion Club, near London.
At that stage he had not confirmed his participation.
The American had previously described the Saudi financial backers of the proposed league as “scary” with a “horrible record on human rights” but said he was willing to deal with them in order to gain leverage to “reshape” the PGA Tour.
He subsequently apologised for his comments.
Norman controversy
Speaking at the Centurion Club in May 2022, Norman batted away concerns over Saudi Arabia’s rights record and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by saying “we’ve all made mistakes” as he defended the LIV tour.
A US intelligence assessment found that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “approved” an operation to capture or kill critic and columnist Khashoggi.
Saudi officials deny this and say that his murder and dismemberment in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018 — which sparked worldwide outrage — was a “rogue” operation.
“This whole thing about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi and human rights, talk about it, but also talk about the good that the country is doing in changing its culture,” Norman said, in comments that drew criticism.
Johnson adds star power
LIV Golf announced at the beginning of the following month that former world number one Dustin Johnson would head the field for its first $25 million event.
Other major winners Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer were also in the field.
Johnson quit the PGA Tour days later, effectively ruling himself out of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy.
The two-time major winner was crowned the inaugural LIV Golf individual champion later in the year.
Established tours flex muscles
The PGA Tour slapped a ban on 17 players competing in the LIV Golf series just minutes after the first event teed off on June 8.
“These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons,” said commissioner Monahan.
Later in the month the DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, banned and fined its own members.
PGA revamp
Monahan announced a sweeping overhaul of the US-based circuit later in June in a move designed to dissuade players from defecting, including a significant boost in prize money.
Trump tees off
Former US President Donald Trump urged golfers to “take the money” and sign with the Saudi-backed LIV series in July 2022.
Trump, who hosted LIV events at two of his golf courses last year, said in a post on his Truth Social network that players should not hesitate to abandon the PGA Tour, which he branded “disloyal”.
Stenson loses Ryder Cup captaincy
Henrik Stenson was stripped of the captaincy of the European Ryder Cup team in the same month, hours before it was confirmed he had signed up to play on the LIV Golf circuit.
The Swede said he was “hugely disappointed” not to be able to maintain his role as captain for the next Ryder Cup.
Legal fights
A group of LIV Golf players filed an anti-trust lawsuit in August against the PGA Tour, with the LIV series joining the action.
It was alleged that the PGA had used a monopoly position to restrict competition and unfairly ban those who left for LIV Golf.
The case was scheduled to be heard in 2024.
In April this year the DP World Tour won a legal battle against a group of rebel golfers who committed “serious breaches” of its code of behaviour by playing in LIV Golf events without permission.
