sport news The winners and losers of the shock PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger trends now

The stunning news of a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf was announced on Tuesday, with the development drawing an end to the bitter civil war that left a cloud hanging over the sport.

Leaders of the two organisations delivered the bombshell announcement, which they claim will drag golf into a 'new era'.

The merger blindsided players and executives, with many discovering the news of a the unlikely truce through social media or via a letter from PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan.

Loyal PGA stars have expressed surprise and a sense of betrayal after shunning lucrative moves to join LIV, while defectors to the rebel tour have largely embraced the announcement.

Mail Sport has rounded up the winners and the losers from the surprise end to the dispute, after 12 months of unprecedented disruption in the men's professional game.

WINNERS 

Yasir Al-Rumayyan and the Saudi Public Investment Fund

Al-Rumayyan has been installed as the chairman of the new entity which will be established following the merger.

The governor of the Public Investment Fund had been the driving force behind LIV Golf and his new role confirms his status as arguably the most powerful player in the sport.

Al-Rumayyan, who is also the chairman of Newcastle United, had recently been ordered to produce documents in a US lawsuit involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. 

The move was challenged by PIF on the grounds he is 'a sitting minister of the Saudi government'. 

Al-Rumayyan will no longer have to fulfill the order after the merger led to an end to the litigation process. 

The assertion had led to calls for the Premier League to probe Newcastle's takeover, with its approval having centred on 'legally-binding assurances' that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would not have any control over the club.

LIV golfers

'Awesome day today,' Phil Mickelson tweeted upon the news of merger, with the post signed off with a smiling emoji.

The 52-year-old will certainly feel smug right now, with the six-time major winner having backed the right horse in this dispute.

Mickelson raked in an eye-watering sum of $200m (£170m) to defect to LIV Golf, making the loss of several sponsors a mere drop in the ocean.

The American had previously claimed he had wanted to see changes to the PGA Tour before his decision to leave, which he later insisted had been introduced following the challenge posed by LIV.

Mickelson will now be among the LIV golfers brought back into the fold, while having cashed in significantly during the civil war.

Brooks Koepka was also not shy in hiding his delight at the merger, asking for a 'welfare check' on Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who had been one of his biggest critics.

The PGA Tour has said there will be a 'fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership', which all presumably will. 

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup had risked being collateral damage in golf's civil war, with European stalwarts Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia among those to have joined LIV Golf.

The resignation of their DP World Tour memberships meant the quartet became ineligible to compete in the famous event.

The merger and process for players to reapply for membership should lead to all of Europe's top stars being available again for the Ryder Cup.

Whether this will come in time for September's competition in Rome is another question.

Golf

The game as a whole could arguably be viewed as winners from the merger.

For a start, the merger has brought to an end to the civil war which had been tearing the sport apart.

An end to bickering between the rival tours will come as a relief to many, particularly fans of the sport.

Further investment from the PIF is likely to provide benefits to golf and its stars, with a reported £1billion cash injection claimed to be on the way.  

Regardless of the controversy surrounding Saudi Arabia's backing of the sport, its financing will carry advantages.