RORY MCILROY AND PGA TOUR STARS TO FINALLY LEARN AMOUNT THEY'LL EARN FOR SNUBBING LIV GOLF

Rory McIlroy and his PGA Tour colleagues will finally learn the reward for their loyalty on Wednesday after snubbing LIV Golf.

McIlroy is among the players who have rebuffed advances from Saudi Arabia-bankrolled LIV Golf since it launched in 2022. Many players who stayed have since argued that they should be financially rewarded for rejecting the chance to join LIV, and their wishes were granted in the form of a £1.2billion investment agreement with Strategic Sports Group (SSG) in January.

SSG, which includes Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, and the PGA Tour agreed to make a for-profit entity to stabilise the organisation's future amid the threat and financial might of LIV. Part of the agreement was an equity scheme, which will see players receive shares in PGA Tour Enterprises.

The 193 eligible PGA Tour players will be informed of the value of their first award grants by the PGA Tour on Wednesday. The tour's best players over the past five seasons - Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay et al - plus long-standing successful players such as Tiger Woods are set to receive the most "membership units", which will vest over the next eight years, giving players a greater incentive to stay in a bid to stave off the allure of LIV.

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“It’s really about making sure that our players know the PGA Tour is the best place to compete and showing them how much the Tour appreciates them being loyal," the tour's chief player officer Jason Gore said in an informative video that will be sent to players, according to GOLF.com.

Unlike the tour's Player Impact Program, which rewards players for their popularity and marketing power, the details of Wednesday's grant award are set to be kept confidential.

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In another move to appease PGA Tour players frustrated by the organisation's handling of the LIV Golf saga, any player who joined the breakaway tour and returns to the PGA Tour down the line will be ineligible for the equity programme.

The players will be divided into four groups, with Group 1 made up of 36 players who will split 80 per cent of the pot. McIlroy, Woods, Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are among the names certain to be in this group and will a receive share of £600m in equity.

A £60m pot will be shared by rank-and-file members and rising talents in the 64-strong Group 2, while, Group 3 will have 57 players splitting a £24m fund. A fourth group made up of 36 "past legends" will receive a share of £60m, based on their career achievements on the PGA Tour. Players in Group 4 must be alive to receive equity awards, which cannot be paid to their loved ones.

Players will only be able to sell their equity once it has vested, and they will also be taxed when they do so. After Wednesday's equity awards, an annual £80m scheme will follow in 2025 for the top 20 players on tour each season.

2024-04-23T21:17:26Z dg43tfdfdgfd