What is the LIV Golf controversy and what has Sergio Garcia to do with it?
To understand what really happened, we need to know what LIV Golf is and why it has courted controversy.
LIV Golf is a professional golf tour bankrolled by the Saudi Arabian government-administered Public Investment Fund, fronted by its CEO, Greg Norman, and sanctioned by the Asian Cup. It is considered the golfing equivalent of the European Super League and the main rival of the PGA tour. LIV Golf was created with the idea of supporting golf globally, and the name LIV was created from the Roman numeral 54.
Now the more established PGA tour doesn’t want its players to be lured by its wealthier rival for its events more so owing to the lucrative contracts and financial benefits offered by LIV Golf and hence denied waivers and suspended the players who participated in the rival events even though some contend that the golfing members of the PGA are independent contractors and PGA calls itself as a “premier membership organization for touring professional golfers” on its ‘About Us’ page.
Then came an antitrust suit filing. The group was led by Phil Mickelson and ten other golfers, in which it was alleged that the golfers’ careers were hurt by the PGA suspension when they joined and played for the rival. Sergio Garcia, a golfing heavyweight from Spain, a former World No.1, was one of the original members of the antitrust suit group. Later he withdrew from it.
Sergio Garcia, along with three other golfers, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland, and Lee Westwood, had applied for the same waiver and is now facing music from the PGA due to its conflict with the LIV Golf Tournament. They also resigned from the DP World Tour membership. Then DP World Tour released a statement after a favourable court ruling that the resigned members would not be eligible for reinstatement unless the fines were paid, and the suspension stood till then.
For many members of LIV Golf, participation in DP World Tour events was one of the few ways they could earn world ranking points, and for a player to be eligible to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup, they needed to be a member of the DP World Tour.
It was also announced later that Garcia is the only one not to have paid the £100,000 fine imposed on those who played in the LIV Golf event without an official release.
However, recent news reports as of 06/June/2023 state the two rivals, PGA Tour and LIV Golf, have agreed to a merger with Jay Monahan as the CEO, which brings a fresh twist to this ongoing feud. Interestingly, the very thing that PGA had accused its rival, LIV Golf, of sports washing and using blood money has now agreed to merge with the same finally.
