A revolution without certainties: what will the historic peace agreement between the PGA and the LIV Golf mean for Niemann and Mito Pereira?

This Tuesday, the world of golf woke up revolutionized, even if neither the fans nor the players knew it. After a series of private meetings, senior PGA executives and LIV Golf executives signed peace and agreed to join forces, once again reformulating a sport that has seen years of turmoil.

But the truth is that this deal still has more questions than answers. A joint publication and a subsequent press conference by Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA, was not enough to contain the questions posed by the protagonists and the followers, because it must be insisted that this union was proposed and accepted by a very small handful of leaders. Even Tiger Woods, the greatest of all time, or Rory McIlroy, the legend and spokesman for the PGA at its most complex moments, were unaware of the union until the news broke. broadcast all over the internet.

WhatWill the leagues unite, will the LIV continue to exist as such? Will there be team competitions at the PGA? Will the Arab League be able to add points for the world ranking? These are some of the doubts that remain in the air and that will define the future of many golfers, including Joaquín Niemann and Mito Pereira. The Chileans have played their cards for the new team and in the short term they seem to be the big winners.

A statement that goes without saying, if we think that the Saudi Public Investment Fund has achieved the great goal it set itself when the LIV was created in 2022: to influence the future of gaming. Without going further, in this new union that will exist between the petrodollar circuit, the PGA and DP World Tour, the post of chairman will be held by Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi fund. Jay Monahan will be the general manager, the same one who a few months ago said his then-rivals were “a foreign monarchy spending billions of dollars trying to buy the game ”.

This new relationship, which will come into effect once the 2023 season is over, will in no way merge the circuits, but rather ensure that everyone can coexist and support each other to find a better product. What does this mean specifically? At the moment it is not clear, because the declaration does not specify any basis or format, moreover, it openly specifies that everything will be seen in the future.

“The new entity will work to ensure a consistent calendar of events that will be exciting for fans, sponsors and all stakeholders. said the PGA Tour in the announcement, opening a window for all three tours to continue to feature on the 2024 golf schedule.

The window is also left open for team competitions to remain in tournaments. “We will conduct a full evaluation of LIV Golf and determine how best to incorporate team golf into professional play. Monahan explained in a letter to PGA Tour players hours after the announcement was confirmed.

In said text leaked to the press, Monahan also raises another of the hypotheses that this agreement has brought about: the return of the rebels to the PGA. Something that less than a week ago the legendary Jack Nicklaus commented shouldn’t happen: “No I don’t believe so. They made a decision. And it’s good. I have no problem with any of them.” was his response when asked about a possible comeback.

The truth is that despite this, everything seems set for Joaquín Niemann and Mito Pereira to be able to participate in the North American tour again. “We will work cooperatively to establish a fair and objective process for any player who wishes to reapply for PGA Tour or DP World Tour membership after completing the 2023 season, in accordance with each Tour’s policies. guided by the established rules and regulations of the PGA Tour “explained the commissioner to the current actors of his circuit.

The process by which PGA and LIV went from legal rivals to business partners remains a mystery and during this session was briefly touched on by PGA executives. What we do know at the moment is that these conversations came in production for seven weeks and that litigation in court was an instance that allowed them to join the distances.

Monahan explained that most of the PGA Tour board members are aware of this, although he did not say if the players who were on it (Patrick Cantlay, Charley Hofmann, Peter Malnati, Rory McIlroy and Webb Simpson ) belonged to this informed group. .

Situation that the American press reports that it was not so. Various media outlets admitted that the players were shocked to learn of this change in PGA speech and it was the same PGA commissioner who described his encounter with golfers on the RBC Canadian Open course as “intense” and “certainly stormy.” during Tuesday afternoon. A completely understandable situation, if Monahan himself for an entire year asked them to reject checks from millionaires to protect golf history.