The LIV golfers who became the black sheep of the golf world are taking a victory lap after the PGA Tour merger

• The PGA Tour is merging with LIV Golf.
• The golf world is completely floored by the news.
• Early reactions from players are starting to come out, and team LIV is feeling great about themselves.

While there's still a lot to be sorted out about the stunning merger between the Saudi-funded LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, it's clear that some of the highest profile LIV players feel like they won.

Phil Mickelson tweeted, "Awesome day today," with a blushing happy face emoji:

—Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) June 6, 2023

 

Brooks Koepka tweeted, "Welfare Check on Chamblee," a reference to Golf Channel analyst and persistent LIV critic Brandel Chamblee:

—Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) June 6, 2023

 

Meanwhile, reports are trickling out that players who stuck with the PGA Tour (and turned down tens of millions of dollars to do so, in some cases) aren't super happy.

From Dan Rapoport:

—Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) June 6, 2023

 

This was backed up by PGA player Colin Morikawa, who said, "I love finding out morning news on Twitter."

Lured by huge amounts of guaranteed money, Koepka, Mickelson, and several other high-profile players defected from the PGA Tour to LIV over the last 24 months.

Those defections have been met with searing criticism from the rest of the golf world.

Off the course, the LIV players have been accused of being "pawns for murderers" and helping "sportswash" the Saudi regime's human rights record.

On the course, they've been banned from the game's most prestigious tournaments outside of the four majors.

The conventional wisdom before today was that this was the bargain they signed up for. They got the giant bag of cash from LIV, but torched their reputations and resigned themselves to a black sheep role within the game as a result.

But now it looks like they could have their cake and eat it too (at least if we're reading the tenor of Koepka and Mickelson's initial reactions).