After a few years of golf being split, there appeared to be a sign that light may be emerging at the end of the tunnel in recent days, with the news that Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are looking set to face off against Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in a match later this year.
Of course, the landscape within the sport looks vastly different than when LIV Golf was in its infancy, with Rory McIlroy certainly not afraid to voice his disgust about the breakaway tour and the impact that it had had on the PGA Tour.
The turning point came when the PGA Tour and the PIF announced the framework agreement in 2023, which looked set to open the door for the world’s best players to come back together at some stage in the future. However, as everyone knows more than a year on, very little has changed.
And with LIV Golf announcing their first four events of 2025 for dates which see them compete against some significant PGA Tour tournaments, it would appear that we are still some way off a resolution. But perhaps there is reason for optimism for those desperate to see the game come back together.
December’s match represents a ‘very significant’ step for the PGA Tour
The upcoming match between McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, and Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau sees two of the PGA Tour’s biggest names facing against the two players who have won major titles since moving to LIV.
And speaking on Golf Channel, Rex Hoggard has suggested that the implications of this match being set up are encouraging after what has seemingly been such a lengthy stalemate between the two sides.
“Well, go back to last week when the commissioner spoke with the media at East Lake and he used words like, ‘yes, they’re making progress in those negotiations with the Public Investment Fund’, and he was optimistic,” he said.
“But it was also clear by some of the other things that he said that we’re not close to a deal, it’s been 15 months since the PGA Tour announced that they were going to have the framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund. If not stalled, then at the very least, those negotiations have become mired in the kind of legal details that I think everybody kind of expected would be the difficult part of this process.
“Now, look at what this means, at least tacitly, the PGA Tour would have to grant both Rory and Scottie their media rights to participate in this, that means that they would be tacitly approving of a match between the two sides – you’re reading between the lines a little bit and filling in some blanks, but I think this is a very significant first step for the PGA Tour.”
Deal may become impossible not to finalise after McIlroy, Scheffler, Koepka and DeChambeau face off
It is clear that many of the players have grown tired with the inability to thrash out an agreement, particularly with the PGA Tour surely upsetting many by setting up the framework agreement in the first place.
And it would not be a surprise if McIlroy and Scheffler were two of those keen to try and make things happen themselves. Clearly, the PGA Tour is stronger again if the likes of DeChambeau and Koepka are involved once again.
Certainly, if December’s match proves to be an overwhelming success with fans, it is not going to sit well with many if the two sides cannot finally find a way to map out elite golf’s future.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
