Donald Trump and others react to PGA and LIV’s ‘big, beautiful, and glamorous deal’

Former President Trump predicted this day would come.

Last July, while taking part in a pro-am during an LIV Golf event at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Trump heaped praise on the newly formed, Saudi-backed tour while criticizing the PGA Tour and the golfers that remained loyal to it.

“You have really the best players in the world, many of the best players in the world,” he said at the time, “and soon you’ll probably have all of them because remember this, [when] there’s a merger, the people that didn’t come, they will never get anything except a thank you from people that took advantage.”

That merger happened Tuesday — and Trump was quick to share his excitement with a post on his Truth Social platform.

“Great news from LIV golf,” he wrote. “A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf.”

The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which operates LIV Golf, announced an agreement Tuesday that combines the two entities and will also encompass the DP World Tour, which is also known as the European Tour. The new group’s name will be announced at a later date.

Sports

Commentary: PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf agree to merge. Now comes the fallout

Leaders of the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf have been locked in a fight over the future of golf. On Tuesday, they announced a shocking merger.

June 6, 2023

The former president wasn’t the only one to respond on social media to the announcement. Greg Norman, LIV’s chief executive, and two of the biggest names on the LIV roster — Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson — expressed their pleasure. Koepka got in a dig at Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who had criticized the golfers who had joined the controversial new tour.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, two PGA golfers who had been among the most vocal objectors to LIV Golf, have not yet publicly responded to the merger. Other PGA golfers expressed surprise, and often anger, at an announcement that caught many off guard.