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PGA Tour sold out to LIV Golf and pro golf is worse for it.

PGA Tour sold out to LIV Golf and pro golf is worse for it.

Frauds, all of them. But frauds now united in the only thing that actually matters to the world of professional golf: Making money.

In the end, it didn’t actually matter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan that the money came from a country, Saudi Arabia, that treats human rights like an inconvenience. The tradition and history of the PGA Tour, in fact, didn’t matter all that much to those who argued that LIV Golf was an unworthy, unserious rival whose guaranteed money and 54-hole events were mocking competition.

And as for the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Greg Norman, they did not, in fact, care all that much about growing the game. They wanted to own it. Now they do: The PGA Tour, brought to you by Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

They sold out. Professional golf will never be the same.

Oh, you can already hear the preening and high-fiving from those even nicer private jets that have been paid for with Saudi oil. And why not?

A year ago, Monahan stood up in front of the world and argued that the way Saudi Arabia treats women, gay people and journalists should matter in a player’s decision whether to jump at the guaranteed payday that came with a LIV invitation.

“I would ask any player that has left or any player that would consider leaving, have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?”

Today? Not so much.

“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights.”

World-class investing experience? Are we talking about the future of pro golf or shares of Vandalay Industries?

In its stunning announcement Tuesday, the PGA Tour positioned it as a merger. On paper, it looks more like a hostile takeover.

The full details, and exactly what it means for golf fans, are lacking at this point. It’s clear from the immediate reaction of PGA Tour players on social media that this decision came from out of the blue and was made well above their pay grade.

“Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with,” world No. 67 Mackenzie Hughes said.

Are the three entities still going to operate separately while being in business together? Will players go back and forth at will to play whatever tour they want in a…

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