Fox News Flash top sports headlines for June 6
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The unexpected merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour could have some "spicy" implications, golf influencer Paige Spiranac shared on social media Tuesday.
The PGA Tour announced a landmark merger with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the DP World Tour on Tuesday morning with the ultimate goal of trying to "unify the game of golf."
Paige Spiranac at the Bass Pro Shops Legends Competition at Top of the Rock on Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Andrew Jansen/News-Leader)
However, the news was met with harsh criticism that particularly focused on Commissioner Jay Monahan and his previously unmoved stance on LIV since its inception in 2022 and other critics of the Saudi-backed circuit.
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"The PGA Tour and LIV are merging," Spiranac tweeted shortly after the news broke. "Golf Twitter is about to be spicy the next couple days."
Social media was ablaze with those pointing out Monahan and the Tour’s about-face.
Video of Monahan being interviewed by CBS' Jim Nantz in June 2022 began circulating on social media. During the interview, Monahan shared his stance after being asked about the 9/11 victims' families and their opposition to the new league over its ties to Saudi funding.
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"As it relates to the families of 9/11, I have two families that are close to me that lost loved ones. So, my heart goes out to them. And I would ask any player that has left or any player that would ever consider leaving: Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?"
The Tour said Tuesday that as part of the new agreement merging the three entities into one, the Saudi PIF will make a "capital investment."
Paige Spirana attends the TAO x Maxim Big Game Party at Southwest Jet Center on Feb. 11, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Marcus Ingram/Getty Images)
Spiranac shared an image from a scene in HBO’s "Succession," depicting the two sides now having to get along following the merger. She also called out Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee, an outspoken critic of the Saudi-backed tour.
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PGA Tour members shared their frustrations about the merger online, with some even saying they first learned of the announcement on social media.
Team captain Dustin Johnson celebrates after winning the LIV Golf Invitational - Boston on the first playoff hole at The Oaks golf course at The International on Sept. 4, 2022 in Bolton, Massachusetts. (Joe Scarnici/LIV Golf via Getty Images)
The new agreement will merge the PIF’s golf-related businesses, which include LIV Golf, with that of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour into a "new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players."
The deal also will create a pathway for those players that left their respective tours to re-apply for membership following the 2023 season and ends all litigation between the circuits.