LA Golf founder and CEO Reed Dickens, who makes putters and shafts for some of the world’s top golfers, pointed to Brooks Koepka’s victory at last month’s PGA Championship as a major factor in the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed fund behind LIV Golf joining forces.
Dickens has a partnership with LIV golfer Dustin Johnson.
Koepka’s win on May 21 in one of the sport’s four major tournaments made a mockery of the golf rankings, Dickens said.
Koepka jumped from No. 44 to No. 13 with the win and was as low as No. 118 before tying for second at the Masters — reaffirming himself as one of the world’s top players.
Official World Golf Ranking, in which the PGA Tour is a powerful member, has disqualified LIV golfers from the rankings because the Tour plays a shortened 54-hole tournament — hence the Roman numerals LIV as its brand — and includes a team format.
Having a high ranking is vital to scoring an invite to the majors, which also include The Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open.
“The only hammer the PGA had left against LIV was controlling the Official World Golf Rankings,” Dickens said.
Everything to know about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
PGA Tour and LIV Golf are ending a war — by joining forces.
The two golf leagues, along with the European DP World Tour, are merging into one company after a period of fierce rivalry, one where LIV Golf defectors were banned from competing on the Tour.
LIV, financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and led by legendary golfer Greg Norman, lured some of the top names in golf last year with reported nine-figure contracts, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Other huge golf names, however, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, stayed loyal to the Tour, despite being offered a massive amount of money.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
Norman said last year Woods turned down a payday in the range of $700 million-$800 million to stick with the PGA Tour.
With the merger, the Saudi-backed LIV and the Tour are ending an antitrust battle and agreed to end all litigation between the two sides.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model.”
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The PGA Tour has said it has recused itself from voting on whether to include LIV events for rankings because of its litigation against the tour which was resolved this week.
LIV has applied for its tournaments to be ranked.
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