Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka, and other golfers react to the LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger - “Thought yesterday was the longest day in golf”
LIV Golf and PGA Tour announced on Tuesday, June 6, that they would be merging into a common entity soon. The news of the merger received mixed reactions from the fans, as well as the players.
While the players associated with the Saudi-backed tour celebrated the news on Twitter, the PGA Tour members seemed shocked by the announcement.
Collin Morikawa tweeted that he learned about the announcement on Twitter.
Morikawa wrote further:
"And everyone thought yesterday was the longest day in golf"
LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka made the biggest impact in the two major championships this season. He took a dig at Brandel Chamblee, who didn't want him on the US Ryder Cup team.
Max Homa is known for his humor, and this time too, he didn't miss the opportunity to use his wit.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III seemed happy with the unification.
"Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we're merging with a tour that we said we'd never do that with," wrote Mackenzie Hughes.
Michael Kim pointed out the secretiveness of the deal.
Sir Nick Faldo called the deal a shocker and questioned the need for the deal with the 'why' hashtag.
Phil Mickelson simply wrote:
"Awesome day today"
Joel Dahmen made a sarcastic remark about the possibility of playing for LIV Golf's 4Aces on the PGA Tour.
Jack Nicklaus, possibly the greatest player in the sport's history, approved the merger of two rival bodies. He was quoted as saying via the Palm Beach Post:
"The last three years have been difficult for the game and the players. I spoke with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan this morning. He seemed pleased with the arrangement that will once again bring together the best players in the world. I agree that this is good for the game of golf."
"It's what needed to happen" - Bryson DeChambeau praises the LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger
LIV Golf's Bryson DeChambeau said that he found out about the merger announcement on Twitter just like many others. He praised the decision though, calling it the need of the hour.
DeChambeau was quoted as saying, via Golf Digest:
"It's what needed to happen for the game of golf. I've been a supporter of the game of golf since day one through all of this, and hope people can see now that I still am and continue to be an advocate for global growth of the game.
"It was time to set our weapons down and figure this out - How do we make this all work for everybody?"
Under the new agreement, there will be no change in the team format of the Saudi-backed circuit. In fact, the plan is to make more investments to grow and improve it further. DeChambeau said that the team format was here to stay and would only prosper from here.
"Team golf will continue to prosper and thrive. Hopefully, this will be a springboard for what the teams can do for the game of golf worldwide," he told Golf Digest.