PGA Tour & DP World Tour agree shock merger with Saudi Arabia's PIF to end split in golf

In late 2021, it was announced that LIV Golf, fronted by Norman, was to commit more than $200m (£145m) to 10 new Asian Tour events to be staged annually over the next decade.

In March 2022, LIV announced a $250m eight-event invitational series and then, in May 2022, Norman told BBC Sport that he had secured an extra £1.6bn of funding from the PIF to turn the series into a 14-event league by 2024.

The first event took place in June last year featuring star names including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and stalwarts of the European Ryder Cup team, including England's Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

In April, the DP World Tour won its legal battle against 12 LIV players who committed "serious breaches" of the Tour's code of behaviour by playing in LIV Golf events without its permission.

The subsequent increased fines and suspensions prompted Sergio Garcia, Poulter, Westwood and Henrik Stenson to resign their memberships and become ineligible for this year's Ryder Cup, which will take place from 29 September to 1 October.

Stenson had been selected as captain of the European team for the matches in Rome, but when he joined LIV he was sacked and replaced by Luke Donald.

Those players could now return to the fold, with the new enterprise pledging to establish a "fair and objective process" for players to re-apply for membership after the end of this season.

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