Everyone seems to have an opinion on the situation in golf as a whole right now and Golf Channel analyst Johnson Wagner has now suggested some dramatic changes to things if a potential LIV deal goes ahead.
With the Genesis being played out this week, talk soon turned to a potential deal between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.
Indeed, Tiger Woods fuelled the fire on those talks when he admitted things could be done very soon.
“I think we are in a very positive place right now. We had a meeting with the President. Unfortunately I had some other circumstances which came up. But Jay and Adam did great during the meeting. We have another subsequent meeting coming up. I think that things are going to heal quickly.
“We are going to get this game going in the right direction. It has been going in the wrong direction for a number of years. The fans want all of us to play together, all the top players playing together, and we are going to make that happen,” Woods said.
“It could be this year or very soon this year,” Woods was then asked. “Yes and yes,” he replied.
And now, after Rory McIlroy claimed LIV had actually helped him, the Golf Channel’s Johnson Wagner has called for big changes.
PGA Tour told to make big changes to accommodate more players
Wagner was speaking about the future of the game on the latest episode of the Rex and Lav podcast and in doing so, he had a grand idea to help secure the future of the tour.
“I am not trying to contradict myself. When I got mad at Rory the other day it was the player coming out in me. I am sick of the little man, journey man, being put down. So when I give you this, it is going to sound a lot like Rory, as as a media guy now this makes the most sense,” Wagner said.
“They have already made it so it is a 100 player tour and I think including the majors it should be a 25 week schedule. You can call it the FedEx Cup tour, whatever you want, poach all the best events. Then I think the Korn Ferry Tour and the smaller PGA Tour events need to merge together. Relieve some stress from these sponsors who are having to pay for $10 million purses. That secondary tour can have $5 or $4 million purses, where guys can go out and make a good living that aren’t on this greater tour.
“All other spots have something different to what golf has. They have a long off season that gives the fans time to miss it. Golf doesn’t. We miss the majors, but you can’t miss PGA Tour golf because it is constant. You basically have the month of December off and then there’s still the silly season events then. I would like to see a 25 week schedule, let’s call it 20, the Players and the majors.
“You don’t have to mandate guys to play ever week but it’s going to be those 100 guys, and maybe you have 30 fall off every year and 30 come up from the merged Korn Ferry, PGA Tour and DP World Tour. It’s got to have turnover but that’s what I see.”
Rich Beem feels a resolution is near for the PGA and LIV tours
While Wagner’s suggestion here will cause debate and the comments from Tiger Woods will grab headlines, there is a feeling things are moving forward now.
Indeed, Sky’s Rich Beem shared that view before Tiger even spoke.
“I think it has had that sense for a little while. It almost feels like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Especially with Monahan and Adam Scott going up to Washington DC and meeting with the President, who is an avid golfer,” Beem said.
“He has had many LIV events at his courses throughout the years. I think him, just being a fan of the game, would like to see the best come back and play together.
“I think because of the relationship he has had and now he’s President once again, there is probably a little bit more he can do. But I still think it will be interesting to see how it plays out, and I still think it is going to take a few extra years for everything to assimilate. I think it could take anything from two to four years now, but it’s heading in the right direction.”
With golf being so divided for so long now, it can only be a good thing for the two biggest tours to come together in some way or another.
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