The shocking announcement Tuesday morning that golf’s civil war is over and that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF have agreed to merge has opened up a new can of worms. Among the questions: how will LIV players, who banked lucrative signing bonuses to jump ship while others turned down the Saudi lucre, be brought back into the fold?
“Do guys who stayed loyal just get a thank you and then guys who got money just get that money and get to come back?” a highly decorated player who received an attractive offer but declined to leave the PGA Tour said. “There’s a lot of questions out there.”
The joint news release that was issued this morning by the golf bodies stated, “the three organizations will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season and for determining fair criteria and terms of re-admission, consistent with each Tour’s policies.”
In a social media posting, DP World Tour commissioner Keith Pelley said, “There was always a route back, players were not banned. There was always a way to return to the DP World Tour.”
But Monahan has consistently brushed off questions whether LIV players could return to the Tour and met with the media just last month and remained resolute that there wasn’t an established path to return.
“I think one of the big things will be moving forward is how are players re-integrated back into the system, if they are,” said Canadian veteran Adam Hadwin, speaking at a Tuesday press conference ahead of the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open. “I mean, again, we don’t even know if they will be. I mean, so that being one of the big talking points throughout this year and a half from the Commissioner about how these guys will never play on the PGA Tour again, it will be interesting.”
One way that LIV players may fit back in is to give them a chance to regain their status during the fall portion of the schedule along with the players outside of the top 70 who qualify for the FedEx Cup. Having some LIV star power competing while the Tour’s stars enjoy their well-earned off-season certainly would attract more eyeballs to those tournaments. In addition, LIV players likely will be forced to pay a reinstatement fee, which will escalate based on their world ranking at the time of their departure and their LIV payout.
“There will be a heavy…
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