All of the direct participants in the PGA-LIV deal were winners. The Saudis leveraged their investment in a tour that was costing them hundreds of millions of dollars into partial control of the real tours. The LIV players will get to keep their money and return to the real tours. The disgruntled PGA players will be compensated with bigger purses and equity stakes in the new business. Rabid fans will be happy to see all of the best players under a single tent again. It’s a great deal, no?
Not for Greg Norman, who will be out of a job. More importantly, the average American fan will be turned off by golf’s new association with Saudi money and politics. The estrangement will be particularly noticeable if any elements of the worthless LIV tour are incorporated into PGA events, and if the Saudis nudge tour events on to Trump courses. If either of these things happens, the PGA has lost me as a fan forever.