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Asian Tour
SportGolf

PGA-LIV merger: where does Asian Tour stand after the deal that ended golf’s civil war?

  • The status of the Asian Tour has yet to be clarified after the agreed merger, despite LIV Golf’s significant investment in it
  • Tour CEO Cho Minn Thant says he must ‘make sure we remain relevant’, but adds ‘the market is really going to open up’ once sponsors no longer have to pick sides

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The future after the merger has not yet been elaborated on by those behind LIV Golf, the circuit fronted by Greg Norman. Photo: Asian Tour
Josh Ball
The region’s best golfers will gather for the Korea Open in the next few days as the Asian Tour resumes after a six-week break, with the deal to merge the PGA Tour and LIV Golf likely to still be the main topic of conversation.
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While rumour and self-proclaimed experts on social media have filled the large void left by a lack of information, the question of what it means for the Asian Tour, LIV Golf and the game in general remains unanswered.

Such is the state of play that Jon Rahm’s brief comments before the US Open about feeling betrayed by the PGA Tour, while thanking it for giving him a start, were interpreted by some as the Spanish world No 2 preparing to join the Saudi-backed circuit ahead of its next event in Valderrama.

Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, has said he “hates LIV” and expects to see its demise, and with the US Senate threatening to investigate there is the possibility the partnership will not happen anyway.

Phil Mickelson is among those who have played in LIV’s International Series. Photo: AP
Phil Mickelson is among those who have played in LIV’s International Series. Photo: AP

So far, only one of the two people qualified to comment, PGA boss Jay Monahan, has done any talking and much of that has been to explain away his previous intransigence towards his new business partners.

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