In April, amid stalled merger talks, a new conversation emerged. The PGA Tour allegedly rejected a $1.5B investment offer from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV Golf’s financial backer.
Many supported Jay Monahan’s move, given that PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan wanted to be co-chairman on the PGA Tour Enterprises board of directors. However, golf analysts suggest that if the LPGA received a similar proposal, it wouldn’t make the same mistake as Monahan.
Recently, Meg Adkins shared her thoughts on the possibility of LIV entering the women’s game in a recent Fried Egg Golf newsletter, saying, “One factor that lessens the LIV concern is that LPGA leaders won’t repeat the mistakes of Jay Monahan in dealing with the LIV leadership.” Adkins points out that it’s unlikely we will see “any jabs about ‘legacy, not leverage,’” if LIV Golf finally steps into the LPGA territory. However, Adkins points out that’s also because “with barely any financial footing to stand on, the only option for LPGA leadership is to show a willingness to listen to potential proposals.”
“One factor that lessens the LIV concern is that LPGA leaders won’t repeat the mistakes of Jay Monahan in dealing with the LIV leadership. Don’t expect to see any jabs about ‘legacy, not leverage,’ or letters beginning ‘Surely you jest.’ With barely any financial footing to stand… pic.twitter.com/84Sviv69Wa
— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) July 2, 2025
And, case in point, the conversations regarding the partnership between LIV Golf and the LPGA have been around for a while. In February, for instance, former interim commissioner Liz Moore had “a couple of conversations“ with LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil. Before that, in 2022, even Mollie Marcoux Samaan, the former LPGA commissioner, said, “I would engage in a conversation if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf, but there needs to be input from players and sponsors.”
However, Adkins also believes the new LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler and Moore will “avoid some of the contention and cattiness on the men’s side that we’ve all grown tired of in recent years.” However, that’s also thanks to the fact that “the LPGA can’t afford to upset an organization that could gobble it up with a snap of a finger.”
Let’s be real: the LPGA circuit needs financial backing. In 2024, rumors suggested that the LPGA would “be slated to lose” around $2 million. LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan stated in her annual address that the tour’s total staff had “increased by 35 percent in recent years.” She also noted that she had “invested heavily on increasing exposure for the tour,” but so far, the results have “come up short.”
Aside from that, earlier this year, the LPGA Tour announced on January 24 the unusual decision to remove the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship from the 2025 season calendar. This tournament was removed due to financial defaults, as it failed to meet its obligations for the 2024 and 2025 editions, according to a press release on the official LPGA Tour website.
Interestingly, the Ladies European Tour already has connections with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Aramco, the Saudi oil company. However, despite her optimism, Adkins noted one potential issue for the LPGA: “The pushback, if there is any, has to come from the players.” And if the 2022 conversation is any indication, that may (partly) be true.
LPGA legends are in favor of conversations with LIV Golf out of one fear
In 2022, with the former commissioner’s thoughts on collaborating with LIV Golf still fresh, golfer Juli Inkster said, “I think if Norman does do this, it’s going to totally ruin the LPGA, because I think most of the girls would go, just because the money is a game-changer.” And this one doesn’t need a lot of explanation if you keep in mind what happened at the PGA Tour after the arrival of LIV Golf. Several former Tour pros like Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson, among others, jumped ship.
In 2022, the LPGA offered a total purse of $97 million, about one-fifth of the PGA Tour’s amount. Meanwhile, LIV Golf announced that its players would compete for $405 million in 2023 across 14 events. With a schedule of limited-field, no-cut tournaments, even a small portion of that could attract many top LPGA players to a LIV women’s league, along with the potential for signing bonuses.
On the other hand, Annika Sorenstam believed it was the commissioner’s responsibility to consider potential opportunities, including LIV. Since the LPGA was part of a 50-50 joint business venture with the Ladies European Tour, they already had a partnership with the Saudi-backed Aramco Series, which offered prize money three to four times that of a typical event on that tour, totaling $6 million. Sorenstam said in 2022: “If it’s the money that they have on the LIV, you know they’re going to crush the LPGA. Hopefully they have the intention of growing the game and working together with the LPGA.” Well, hopefully, this one will be more peaceful.
The post “Won’t Repeat the Mistakes of Jay Monahan”: LIV Golf Money Won’t Be a Hard No for LPGA, Per Reports appeared first on EssentiallySports.