PGA Tour golfers punished for their loyalty in merger with LIV Golf

 Scott Van Pelt was critical of the merger, calling out the PGA Tour for relying on players such as Woods and Rory McIlroy to rail against LIV Golf only to accept the same money it told its stars to reject.

Others were even more critical of the PGA Tour's decision. 

The PGA Tour looks even weaker considering it neglected to inform its members prior to the news breaking.

Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen posted comments on Twitter referencing the merger, with Morikawa sarcastically stating he appreciated finding out about the merger online and Dahmen jokingly expressing a desire to play on Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces LIV Golf team.

McIlroy didn't immediately comment, but several people took to Twitter to imagine what he must be thinking after being blindsided by the organization he defended.

He might be leaning heavily into the "Roy" part of his last name considering he's probably feeling a lot like Kendall Roy at the end of "Succession." 

In a statement released to PGA Tour members announcing the merger, PGA Tour CEO Jay Monahan said, "Through this transformational agreement ... the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour's history, legacy and pro-competitive model not only remains intact, but is supercharged for the years to come. Our game, our players and our fans will no doubt benefit for years to come."

After players defended the Tour against LIV Golf for the past two years only to suffer from the whiplash of this backdoor deal, why should they believe anything Monahan says? The players who stuck around aren't benefitting from the merger. Some will unfairly face criticism for playing on a Saudi-funded tour after denouncing LIV Golf.

That's of little concern to Monahan. With the sizable financial investment from the Public Investment Fund, player dissatisfaction is nothing more than a minor calculating error.