Mark Madden: Money always wins, and the PGA did what was best for golf

Before you moralize about the Saudis buying golf — which is exactly what they did Tuesday — ask yourself this: How would you feel if they bought the Pittsburgh Pirates?

If the Saudis bought the Pirates, they would be the best team in MLB within two or three years. No salary cap to impede their spending. Baseball’s best players would go to Pittsburgh. It would be a dynasty. Playoffs are a crapshoot, but the Pirates would win rings.

That’s not a maybe, by the way. Under Saudi ownership, the Pirates would make the New York Mets’ spending akin to a cheap tipper at a restaurant. The payroll would be a half-billion, maybe more.

If that happened, would you disown the Pirates because their success came as the result of the Saudis’ blood money?

If you say yes, you’re lying. You’d wallow in the glory. Even if you didn’t, more than enough people would.

The problem with the Saudis buying golf isn’t the morality. As a society, we’re long since past that. Anybody with billions of dollars did something bad to reach that level of wealth. The Saudis are worse than most. But they’re hardly unique.

The problem will be the moralizing. Which will drone on nonstop. Blah, blah, blah.

The PGA did what was best for golf and the resulting organization. Rory McIlroy was LIV’s staunchest foe, and he’s already said it’s OK. McIlroy (along with everybody else) will take the Saudis’ dirty cash. McIlroy should have done it sooner.

PGA boss Jay Monahan ladled out lots of horse manure with his talk of loyalty, legacy and 9/11. But the players didn’t have to be stupid enough to believe him.

Phil Mickelson got a $200 million signing bonus from LIV. Four others got $100 million or better: Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith.

Tiger Woods turned down a reported $800 million, McIlroy could have got $500 million, Hideki Matsuyama $300 million.

Their loyalty has turned into stupidity. Stupidity because this was always going to happen. It was obvious. Donald Trump called it a year ago, and he’s a moron.

LIV might have been struggling. But the Saudis never were going to give up or run out of money. They were going to keep taking golfers and keep advancing through aggressive spending in all areas. As McIlroy said, “They weren’t going to stop.”

Had the majors turned on LIV Golf, money ultimately would have negated their tradition. The Saudis could take out Augusta. Not overnight. But it would happen.

Because money always wins. The PGA knew that and cut future drama off at the pass.

Golf’s merger was 100% inevitable. The NFL merged with the AFL. The NBA merged with the ABA. The NHL merged with the WHA. But in those cases, the established leagues weren’t overwhelmed by the rival league’s cash. They just wanted to ditch the headache, reel in players’ salaries and regain total control.

In this instance, the Saudis have total control. No matter what’s said.

Kids out there, heed this advice: always take the money. Because it’s always going to win.

The PGA loyalists shouldn’t hate the LIV rebels when they’re reunited. In the workplace, loyalty stretches the length of a dollar.

There’s going to be a PGA-LIV Ryder Cup-style competition. You watch.

Golfers should regard Mickelson as a hero. He gave LIV initial credibility. Now everybody in golf is going to make more money.

Whether he’s canonized or not, Mickelson is sure to be more obnoxious and overbearing than ever. It’s going to be glorious.

I’d work for the Saudis. Do they need a director of golf propaganda? The toughest thing for me wouldn’t be taking the money. It would be learning to like golf.