LIV golf could poach Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods – PGA Saudi power explained

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are free to ditch the PGA tour for LIV golf without penalty after a clause in the framework agreement between the two tours was removed. The world of men’s elite golf was rocked to its core last month when it was announced that the waring golf tours were prepared to settle their differences by forming one single entity with the DP World Tour in a wholly unexpected merger.

Saudi-backed LIV golf caused an uproar when it managed to successfully lure some of the biggest names in golf away from the leading PGA tour by offering huge signing-on fees running into millions as well as guaranteed prize money on the new breakaway tour.

Huge stars like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Phil Mikelson all made the switch, alongside several other players including Brits Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter as well as big-hitting American Bryson DeChambeau.

Woods and McIlroy remained loyal with the Northern Irishman effectively becoming the face of the PGA in opposition to the rebel tour that is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF). But their decision to turn down the offer of millions of pounds appeared to be a foolish one when it emerged that the bitter rival tours were now prepared to work with each other.

Since then, the New York Times has reported that the US Department for Justice has reviewed the agreement and has considered a joint promise between the two tours to not recruit each other’s players as concerning.

In the initial framework agreement, the non-solicitation clause stated that neither the PGA Tour nor LIV Golf would “enter into any contract, agreement or understanding with” any “players who are members of the other’s tour or organisation”.

However, that clause has since been removed altogether.

Explaining the decision, a tour statement said: “The Framework Agreement sets the stage for an exciting future for professional golf that re-establishes competition at the highest levels of the sport and creates the biggest stage for everyone – players, sponsors, and fans.

“Based on discussions with staff at the Department of Justice, we chose to remove specific language from the Framework Agreement. While we believe the language is lawful, we also consider it unnecessary in the spirit of cooperation and because all parties are negotiating in good faith.”

A lack of clarity in the original merger statement has meant that exactly how the new tour will operate has not been transparently laid out, but it would appear that the name of LIV Golf could survive once the agreement is finalised, potentially with events from different tours forming a solitary world calendar.

But with nothing to stop players from any of the existing tours from switching sides, the landscape of men’s professional golf looks set to keep evolving for some time to come.