Depending on who you ask in the world of golf, a unification deal involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backers – the Saudi Arabian PIF – could be anywhere between ‘impending’ and ‘never going to happen’ on the scale of likelihood.
In Paul McGinley’s mind, at least, those hoping to see all of the world’s best male players competing against each other more than four times a year will probably have to wait at least a few more years yet.
A recent meeting in The Bahamas between PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, the six player directors on the PGA Tour board, and PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan relating to the future of the men’s pro game was claimed to have been “constructive.”
Yet, since the shock June 6 agreement around 10 months ago, it could be argued that the only notable move by either party has been a selfish one. The PGA Tour welcomed the Strategic Sports Group as part of a $3 billion investment while LIV successfully reeled in a basket of big fish from their rival tour.
As a result of the in-fighting at the top of the men’s game, fans are quite literally turning off when it comes to golf. Recent statistics involving the PGA Tour have seen significant drops in viewership throughout the US-based circuit’s 2024 events.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport’s Greg Allen on Radio 1’s Saturday Sport, McGinley is greatly concerned for golf’s immediate future and does not believe a resolution is close to being found.
Asked if a deal between the PGA Tour and PIF is on the horizon, McGinley said: “Don’t hold your breath. I think both parties are still wide away from each other in terms of where the common ground is.
“There’s a lot of resolve on the PGA Tour side to say, ‘we’re OK, we’ve got this investment in from the Strategic Sports Group, let’s batten down the hatches and go’.
“And LIV are the same: ‘If you’re doing that, well we’ll batten down the hatches too and we’ll go.
“And I’m in the middle thinking, ‘well that’s not going to be good for golf.’ I hope that doesn’t happen. But we could have to be resigned to that.
“It could be a few more years before we see any kind of daylight, unfortunately. And I don’t think golf is going to thrive in that period of time.”
PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ahead of The Masters in less than a fortnight’s time, where the…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly…