Former President Trump predicted this day would come.
Last July, while taking part in a pro-am at a LIV Golf event at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ, Trump praised the new Saudi-backed tour while criticizing the PGA Tour and loyal golfers. to that.
“You really have the best players in the world, a lot of the best players in the world,” he said at the time, “and soon you’ll probably have them all because remember this, [when] there is a merger, the people who did not come, they will never have anything except a thank you from the people who took advantage of it.
That merger took place on Tuesday — and Trump was quick to share his excitement with a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Good news from Golf LIV,” he wrote. “A grand, beautiful and glamorous affair for the wonderful world of golf.”
The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which operates LIV Golf, announced a deal on Tuesday that combines the two entities and will also encompass the DP World Tour, also known as the European Tour. The name of the new group will be announced later.
The former president was not the only one to react on social networks to the announcement. Greg Norman, CEO of LIV, and two of the biggest names on LIV’s roster – Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson – expressed their delight. Koepka embarked on a dig at Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who had criticized golfers who had joined the controversial new tour.
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, two PGA golfers who had been among LIV Golf’s most vocal opponents, have yet to publicly respond to the merger. Other PGA golfers expressed surprise, and often anger, at an announcement that caught many off guard.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.