Not Jay Monahan or Greg Norman but This Mastermind Came Out as the Winner of the $3B Merger as Startling Revelation Emerges

Golf fans worldwide woke up to a shock and then a relief on June 6. Shock because PGA Tour and LIV Golf, two warring parties finally reached an agreement. Relief because two men who didn’t see eye-to-eye were sitting elbow-to-elbow in a morning television show smiling all the while.

The three-way merger deal, however, didn’t progress at the same speed all the parties hoped it would. Nonetheless, the negotiations never came to a grinding halt, giving hopes of winding up a never-ending saga. Although PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman garnered much of the claps and boos, senior sports journalist Alan Shipnuck reveals, in all likelihood, it was another man who moved the needle.

Who was the mastermind of the three-way deal?

In an interview with Golfweek, Shipnuck revealed that DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley came up with the idea of a PGA Tour-DP World Tour alliance that was drafted as a pushback to LIV Golf’s onslaught. The idea for the deal, however, came from another deal that never saw the light of the day.

Premier Golf League (PGL) first came up to Pelley for an agreement. As per the Sports Illustrated author, “He’s [Pelley] an underrated part of this whole story because the Premier Golf League first really tried to partner with the European Tour, and it was those negotiations that led to the strategic alliance between the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and that had a big domino effect.” Interestingly, PGL had the same formats as LIV Golf, only that Andrew Gardiner touted this idea well before Al-Rumayyan.

Although the deal was widely seen as a pushback to LIV Golf, Pelley probably was more open to different ideas. His prime aim was to secure the European Tour’s future first.

“Pelley has had a more open line with the Saudis,” claims the veteran author. As the ongoing negotiations between DP Tour, PGA Tour & LIV reveal, it could be Pelley who moved the needle while staying under the radar all the time. His conversation with the 59-year-old CEO also convinced Shipnuck that Pelley has more sound knowledge of the entire situation. “I think he’s better informed,” the author of ‘LIV & Let Die ’ reveals.

The merger, first announced in June, had a deadline of December 2023. However, the deadline is expected to be extended due to multiple obstacles.

Read More: Greg Norman Suffers Another Devastating Setback Amid Uncertain Future Post the $3B LIV Golf-PGA Tour Merger

The cracks in the glass palace soon became evident

Since the first announcement, the deal has been tangled in multiple controversies. After the players expressed their reservations against the deals, Monahan had to onboard six PGA Tour players into the board.

Moreover, the US Department of Justice put its foot down to investigate whether the deal breaches the antitrust statutes. Recently it was reported that golfers are demanding a stake in the newly formed entity to safeguard their future after the merger.

With the current imbroglio still persisting, both parties might have to fall back on Keith Pelley’s strategic acumen soon.

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