Not everyone was thrilled with the stunning merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
After it was announced Tuesday that the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed rebel league are joining forces into one company, a meeting between the players and commissioner Jay Monahan got heated, according to PGA golfer Johnson Wagner.
Speaking on the Golf Channel, Wagner called the meeting “contentious” and that “multiple” players called for Monahan’s ouster.
Earlier in the day, the head of the PGA called the move to join forces with LIV Golf “historic” for the sport going forward.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV — including the team golf concept — to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans.
Johnson Wagner of the United States plays his shot from the first tee during the second round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 28, 2022 in Southampton, Bermuda. Getty Images“Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made – to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future.”
However, according to Wagner, multiple players received standing ovations when they called for Monahan’s resignation, and around 90 percent of the players were against the merger, while only 10 percent were OK with the decision.
Everything to know about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
PGA Tour and LIV Golf are ending a war — by joining forces.
The two golf leagues, along with the European DP World Tour, are merging into one company after a period of fierce rivalry, one where LIV Golf defectors were banned from competing on the Tour.
LIV, financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and led by legendary golfer Greg Norman, lured some of the top names in golf last year with reported nine-figure contracts, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Other huge golf names, however, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, stayed loyal to the Tour, despite being offered a massive amount of money.
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Norman said last year Woods turned down a payday in the range of $700 million-$800 million to stick with the PGA Tour.
With the merger, the Saudi-backed LIV and the Tour are ending an antitrust battle and agreed to end all litigation between the two sides.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model.”
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Monahan, at the very least, agreed on the sentiment of the meeting.
“I would describe the meeting as intense. Certainly heated,” Monahan said afterward, according to Golf Magazine.
It wasn’t the first time Monahan caught flak Tuesday, as the group 9/11 Families United slammed the agreement between the two organizations.
Last June, 911familiesunited.org, sent a scathing letter to representatives of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Kevin Na accusing them of sportswashing and betraying the United States.
On Tuesday, the organization denounced the merger and particularly called out Monahan for his handling of the situation.
“I am absolutely appalled, and they should be ashamed,” Terry Strada, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, told The Post in a phone interview Tuesday. “I knew nothing about this until I saw it in the news this morning.
“It’s extremely disappointing and appalling that Monahan would stand with us in the media against this sportswashing entity of LIV Golf for a full year and then do this abrupt about-face and not be man enough to even have a conversation and give us a warning or an explanation of why and how they came to this decision.
Jay Monahan called the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf “historic.” APBarstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy expressed similar feelings and backed the 9/11 families, going as far as to call Monahan “a piece s–t.”
According to the PGA Tour, the Saudi Public Investment Fund “will make a capital investment” into the new, yet-to-be-named supertour.
The merger will also end all litigation between the two organizations.






