The PGA Tour and LIV Golf could be closer than ever to a deal after a meeting involving Donald Trump and we could even see LIV players at the upcoming Players Championship in March.
With golf still at a standstill in terms of a deal between the two biggest tours in the game, there’s been a consistent hope that President Donald Trump could help broker an arrangement.
Trump met Tiger Woods ahead of the Super Bowl and since then, there’s been constant rumours around what might come next.
Trump is keen to work with the PIF and given his position of power, he holds a lot of the cards when it comes to bringing his beloved game back together.
Now, in what will be seen as sensational news around the world, it’s being suggested we could see LIV Golf stars at The Players in a few weeks.
Why LIV Golf stars could be at The Players after latest Donald Trump talks
While there’s been movement expected on a deal, it seems things might be accelerating at a pace even the most optimistic of golf fan could have expected.
According to NBC Sports golf analyst Rex Hoggard, there are suggestions from the LIV end that things could be sorted very quickly indeed.
“I’ll go one step further. I could say the possibility of next month with The Players Championship looming. I spoke to one LIV player who has actually heard from the PGA Tour about the possibility of showing up at the flagship event,” Hoggard said.
“Let’s put that into context. The message that sends to fans is that yes, we understand you, we hear you, we know you want to the game to be reunited, we know you want to see the best players from both tours playing against each other more often. That would be a very powerful statement.”
Whether LIV players are interested in PGA Tour events
With the LIV Golf players earning guaranteed money and then competing for prize money on their own tour, there is no huge rush for certain players to jump back into PGA Tour events.
Indeed, speaking on the same show as Hoggard, Eamon Lynch admitted that for some LIV players, playing on PGA events might just not appeal anymore.
“I think it is a likelihood at this stage. That is a conversation that the Tour has had internally. In terms of there is a deal reached in principle, what are the olive branches, what cross pollination exists before you get to whatever the settled landscape looks like. Because the settled landscape is most likely a couple of years away in terms of what we see consistently,” Lynch said.
“They are looking for wins they can point to for fans through 2025 and I think that could potentially lead to LIV players being invited on to PGA Tour events. The question is how many LIV players are actually interested in playing PGA Tour events?
“That’s an assumption we all make that may be a misconception. I think a lot of LIV guys aren’t really that interested in playing. Some are and some will be, but I don’t necessarily think all of them are that interested.”
The likes of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton might well be keen given their Ryder Cup interests.
However, the likes of Cam Smith and others may not have the same interest and it will be interesting to see just what a potential deal looks like.
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