On Tuesday, the world of sports was rocked by the news that the PGA and DP World golf tours would merge with the LIV Golf tour.
Launched in 2021, LIV Golf was created by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and headed by legendary player Greg Norman.
Using the lure of big-money contracts, the new LIV tour quickly began to sign star players to their roster, causing a substantial rift between itself and the two main professional golf tours.
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— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) February 28, 2023
Those who joined LIV were suspended from the PGA and DP World Tours, plus the Ryder Cup, a biannual event between players from Europe and the USA.
This resulted in lawsuits between players who joined LIV and their former tours over their suspensions from competing in events and other matters.
So after all the hostility, many are shocked to see all three parties come together to form a new for-profit company funded by the Saudi PIF, with even some PGA Tour players calling out the “hypocrisy”.
The merger is also awkward for players like Rory McIlroy who have stood by the hard stance taken by the PGA and DP World Tour only for this to happen.
Many of you are wondering what this has to do with Formula 1, but is a future Saudi-backed takeover of the pinnacle of motorsport inevitable?
Saudi Arabia has built a strong foundation in motorsports in recent years, starting with the Dakar Rally in 2020.
Since then, F1, Formula E, and Extreme E have added races with more to come, such as MotoGP, which is set to race at the new track at Qiddiya upon completion.
On a national level, Saudi has huge ambitions to become a global motorsport hub and even envisages F1 teams being based in the Kingdom.
So with all this investment into motorsport infrastructure, education, talent and international events, it can’t be long until they buy their first international racing series.
And the biggest of them all already appears to be in their sights, after current F1 owners Liberty Media had to deny speculation of a takeover bid earlier this year.
The appeal of F1 is clear, as it would come with not just F1 but also F2 and F3, providing a perfect place to nurture young Saudi drivers, engineers and mechanics.
Also, their location means Saudi can capitalise on markets on both sides of the world, which may appeal to those concerned F1 is becoming too ‘Americanised’.
Then there’s the small matter of the political benefit, with the Kingdom often accused of using sport to improve its image and gloss over its terrible human rights record.
And while Liberty might be reluctant to sell now, should F1’s current wave of interest begin to crest and fall, you would imagine, eventually, the PIF will make an offer Liberty can’t refuse.
If that happens, the current sporting and political fallout engulfing professional golf will arrive at an F1 track near you…