As the PGA Tour goes from strength to strength following the creation of LIV Golf, a merger between the two competitions doesn’t seem to be on the horizon.
In 2023, progress was being made in the unification of professional golf. The PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Saudi PIF announced they would combine the commercial rights of their entities into a new for-profit company.
But two years on from that, and no definitive agreement has been reached. There have been ongoing discussions about how LIV Golf fits into the sport’s future, and details such as players’ contracts and media rights weren’t ironed out.
The DP World Tour was confident that significant progress towards a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV would happen by 2026. But we are now months away from that deadline, and negotiations have cooled.
Brandel Chamblee spoke to someone involved in the 2023 meeting between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, and explained why he doesn’t think a merger will ever happen between the two.
Brandel Chamblee says why there may never be a deal between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour
It felt like a conclusion to the PGA Tour and LIV Golf saga was near when the plans for a merger were initially announced. The impression given was that the details still needed to be confirmed, but there was intent from both sides to get it done.
After speaking to someone involved in the meeting, Chamblee believes the announcement’s entire purpose was to end the discovery process in the ongoing lawsuits between the two companies.
Chamblee said the PGA Tour never planned on going into business with LIV. Speaking on Straight Facts Homie, he said, “I don’t believe that this proposed alliance between LIV and the PGA Tour was ever serious.
“I think all that was to end the litigation and to end the discovery. I talked to somebody who was in that room. There weren’t very many people in that room, but I did talk to somebody who was absolutely in that room shortly after that proposed deal.
“And he told me there will never be a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV. And then he said sort of matter-of-factly, ‘You know, they’re bad. They’re bad guys. They’re bad guys.’ And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe you don’t want to be in business with them.’”
So for anybody hopeful of seeing the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm back on the PGA Tour, don’t hold your breath. Especially after the PGA Tour’s success last season, a deal isn’t close to being agreed.
LIV Golfers waiting to come back onto the PGA Tour
In 2024, Steve Stricker said that he knows LIV players who want to return to the PGA Tour.
He said, “I know the guys, some of them on the LIV tour, want to come back and play out on the regular Tour. I know that for a fact, and so it’s kind of a wait-and-see game, especially for us out here.”
DeChambeau wasn’t allowed to play in the Procore Championship with his Ryder Cup teammates, and he expressed his frustration with the Tour because of it. It’s clear he would like to play some events as and when he chooses.
He’s most likely not the only one, but there is still a lot of uncertainty around what the PGA Tour would do to punish stars for leaving to join LIV. It’s clear that their success doesn’t depend on the LIV star’s participation, so could they be suspended for a time?
We are three years removed from the official launch of LIV, and the future of the sport is no clearer.
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