We are no closer now to a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf than we were way back when the Saudi-backed outfit first came on the scene in 2022.
In fact, it could be argued that the PGA Tour hierarchy and the LIV Golf leadership have drifted even further apart in that time.
It was back in April when Brandel Chamblee claimed a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV will ‘never happen’.
And the longer that time goes on, the more it seems like Chamblee will be proven correct.
In June it was claimed that a major sticking point preventing a potential merger was LIV’s insistence on the team format being a future component as part of any deal.
New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said he will speak about a potential LIV merger once he is more clued up on the ins and outs of the matter.
So where do we actually stand right now?
PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger said to be ‘cooked’
The PGA Tour and The Saudi Public Investment Fund reached a Framework Agreement back in 2023.
But nothing has actually become official since then. In fact, the two parties seem to have drifted further apart.
Now, former tour pros Mark Allen and Nick O’Hern have shared what they’ve been hearing about a potential merger between the two tours, when speaking on the Talk Birdie To Me Podcast.
Allen said: “Have you heard anything from the LIV and PGA Tour merger of late? It’s cooked, isn’t it? Let’s get serious. It is cooked.
“I can’t see it. Once upon a time I was saying that my source, Scottie Scheffler’s brother in law, has gone quiet. He does not know anything. Nothing is happening. They have committees all over the place, they have had Oval office meetings. It is done. I’ve been wrong before, so if I’m wrong, I would be happy to be wrong!“
Before O’Hern explained: “From what I have heard from the LIV side of things, the schedule will come out again, they will play another full season as they do. The PGA Tour is doing their thing and LIV is doing theirs.
“The thing I’m curious about is when they first signed they signed four year contracts, so once those contracts are up, that’s when I think it will get very interesting.
“Maybe they will keep doing what they are doing and re-sign again and away they go.
“The whole team franchise model that they were working on, I have not heard much about that. They were talking $800 million to one billion dollar valuations for these teams about a year ago, you don’t really hear about that any more.“
That’s a real shame because we, as golf fans, deserve to see the very best players in the world compete against each other outside of the four major championships.
LIV need to make some statement signings from the PGA Tour
The feeling within golfing circles right now is that LIV need to come out swinging this winter.
Aside from Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, the Saudi-backed league is seriously lacking any kind of star power right now.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour seem to be stronger than ever.
The problem for LIV is that the very best PGA Tour players appear to be out of their reach right now.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy won’t be jumping ship, while Xander Schauffele’s father said LIV’s lack of world ranking points on offer means his son won’t be joining them anytime soon either.
Earlier this month, it was claimed that two PGA Tour stars are in discussions to join LIV Golf.
So who could LIV tempt into joining them? Cameron Young perhaps? He is a very good player, but a superstar? Hardly.
Other recent winners who could make the move are Ryan Gerard, Chris Gotterup and Kurt Kitayama. Those names just prove what LIV are up against.
Perhaps the key for them moving forward will be getting their best players tied down to longer contracts and signing younger golfers with high ceilings, rather than ready-made stars.
A change in strategy and a clear pivot from their former recruitment policy may well be needed if LIV are to ever genuinely compete with the PGA Tour.
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