Bitter blow for McIlroy and Co as Koepka's HUGE earnings are revealed
‘A good day to have a good day’: LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka’s wife Jena Sims revels in Saudi takeover of golf after her husband earned £100m+ by joining rebel tour before shock merger
- A shock merger was announced between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf on Tuesday
- Brooks Koepka was among the stars to have joined the Saudi-backed series
- The five-time major winner’s wife Jena Sims said the merger was a ‘good day’
Jena Sims have reveled in news of LIV Golf’s sensational merger with the PGA Tour, with her husband Brooks Koepka having been one of the breakaway’s most prominent names.
The stunning merger was announced on Tuesday, with the PGA and European Tours having signed an agreement with the Saudi-backed circuit to combine their businesses into a new, yet-to-be-named company.
The merger ends the ongoing litigation between the rivals. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
The move represents a major victory for LIV Golf, who had lured several stars like Koepka to the series.
Koepka, a five-time major winner, had reportedly earned over $100million (£80m) by joining the rebel tour.
LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka’s wife Jena Sims welcomed the PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger
Koepka had earned a massive £80million pay day by agreeing to joint the Saudi backed tour
The five-time winner had been among the stars to have agreed to join the Saudi backed series
His wife Sims welcomed the merger on social media, writing ‘It’s a good day to have a good day’.
The model also responded to a post by Gold Digest which read ‘The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is the primary financial backer of LIV Golf, have announced a treaty and potential merger, ending two years of civil war in professional golf.’
Sims added ‘And on social media to innocent bystanders and families of the players who joined LIV.’
Koepka was among the major stars to have left the PGA Tour to join Liv Golf.
Phil Mickelson accepted a reported £160m with open arms and Dustin Johnson earned a £120m payday, showcasing the LIV project’s financial muscle.
Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau were all paid £80m.
Elsewhere, Bubba Watson took up a £40m figure, with Sergio Garcia banking £32m and Ian Poulter earning a number between £16m-£24m.
LIV Golf stars had been slammed due to the tour’s ties to Saudi Arabia’s controversial Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Rory McIlroy was a staunch LIV opponent and had turned down an offer to the join the series
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is under increasing pressure following the shock merger
PGA AND LIV IN SHOCK MERGER
PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger LIVE: Latest updates following bombshell announcement that Saudi-backed competition will join forces and create new company with its bitter rival, with Jay Monahan speaking tonight
PGA Tour sensationally MERGES with rival LIV Golf in major win for the Saudis, gloating Trump, and the players who pocketed MILLIONS – as loyal PGA golfers are left to find out by LETTER
PGA commissioner Jay Monahan hails ‘momentous day’ in letter to Tour members after agreeing shock merger with rivals LIV Golf… as he insists the sport and its players will ‘benefit for years to come’
‘Rory is down so bad right now!’: Social media pokes fun at McIlroy for ‘turning down $300MILLION just to work for the Saudis for free for one year’ after shock announcement that the PGA tour and LIV Golf are MERGING
PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger: All the big questions – answered and unanswered – as players are left in the dark by the sport’s shock ‘unification’
They must be sick! How stunned PGA loyalists turned down MILLIONS to snub controversial LIV Golf breakaway, with Tiger Woods rejecting almost £700m and Rory McIlroy declining £400m
LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson delights in ‘awesome day’ after rebel circuit announces merger with traditional circuit – while the PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan is blasted
Brooks Koepka savages NBC and LIV Golf critic Brandel Chamblee after PGA and Saudi-backed series merger, asking for a ‘welfare check’ on analyst
PGA Tour sensationally MERGES with rival LIV Golf in major win for the Saudis, gloating Trump, and the players who pocketed MILLIONS – as loyal PGA golfers are left to find out by LETTER
OLIVER HOLT: A penny for the thoughts of some of the high-profile golfers who resisted the riches on offer from LIV because PGA chief Jay Monahan told them they owed it to the game not to defect
How LIV won golf’s bitter civil war: Saudi billions captured PGA’s biggest names before stunning deal was struck after rebels like Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson were pitted against Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
Saudis BUY golf: Stunning deal sees LIV join forces with PGA and DP World Tours and pump in £1bn to help the new collaboration
The day golf changed for ever: Saudis bankroll shock deal with PGA and DP World Tours after toxic year as LIV rebels are welcomed back… with Amanda Staveley’s role proving key
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman ‘NOT expected to have a role in the PGA Tour merger’ and the rebel series chief only found out MINUTES before the deal was announced
REVEALED: PGA Tour golfers ‘call for chief Jay Monahan to step down’ in ‘contentious’ players meeting after he kept McIlroy, Woods and Co. in the dark for seven weeks over shock LIV merger
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were kept in the dark about the secret deal to end golf’s civil war until the DAY it was announced, reveals Jay Monahan as pressure mounts on the PGA Tour chief after his U-turn
Grab the popcorn! Netflix’s ‘Full Swing’ was filming as the news broke of the PGA Tour’s shock merger with LIV Golf, confirms producer, with season 2 set to capture all the dramatic fallout
Critics have accused the kingdom of ‘sportswashing’ its human rights record, with its stars having faced allegations of greed for their decision to join.
The bombshell merger had been hailed by PGA commissioner Jay Monahan as a ‘momentous day’ for the game in a letter to Tour members, although countless players were caught off guard by the news.
Ultimately, household names such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy opted to remain on the PGA Tour, turning down eye-watering packages tabled by LIV.
Woods was believed to have turned down a package was worth north of £650m, while McIlroy reportedly shunned an offer in the region of £400m.
Despite their public support of the PGA and criticism of LIV Golf, a merger has now been agreed.
Both Woods and McIlroy had been kept in the dark about the deal until the day it was announced.
There was significant anger at a players’ meeting at the Canadian Open, after a Tour they sided with and supported, rather than jettison for personal gain, has now welcomed the Saudi Arabian billions.
Pathways are in place for LIV rebels to return to the traditional tours having already cashed in.
Monahan admitted the meeting was ‘intense’ and ‘heated’, with the PGA commissioner’s position now under immense scrutiny.
Monahan has been accused of hypocrisy for accepting the deal alongside the DP World Tour and has been viewed as the surrendering of global golf to Saudi Arabia.
He previously slammed the morality of accepting Saudi money and pointed to the Kingdom’s links to 9/11.
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