NORTH YORK, Ontario – Wednesday on the PGA Tour was just different this week.
Sure, there were a handful of press conferences and a pro-am for the 2023 RBC Canadian here at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, and while players like two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar and the Canadian contingent competing in their national open desperately want to keep the attention on the tournament, for many in the field of 156 players, the event isn’t their main focus.
On Tuesday the PGA Tour announced the formation of a new golf entity alongside the DP World Tour and with the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which had been funding LIV Golf, a rival upstart circuit that has been a thorn in the Tour’s side for more than a year now. The vibe around the course on Wednesday was just flat-out weird, a sentiment echoed by the handful of players willing to talk about the news of the week. It’s not that players refused to speak, they just didn’t know what to say.
“I wish I knew more synonyms, but I would say somber,” said Harry Higgs. “Not in like a death in the family somber, but it’s a little difficult to go about business as usual … Part of me doesn’t feel like I really should be here right now, not that I should leave the tournament, this just feels kind of weird.”
“From the sounds of it, it was something that (PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan) thought about and couldn’t avoid. So it does distract you,” said Mackenzie Hughes. “I mean, I’m answering a question now about something that’s not really pertaining to this week or this championship … but once we get through today and we get going tomorrow, I think that the focus will be on the RBC Canadian Open and that’s where it should be.”
Mackenzie Hughes plays a shot during the pro-am ahead of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open. (Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)
Fans and even players are learning about the new entity on the fly, and the press release offered little concrete information. What we know is all pending litigation between the Tour and LIV has vanished, and if approved, players would be united once again. Current PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will be the CEO, while Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, will be the chair of the board. The PIF will also be the sole investor and has right of first refusal for new money coming in.
“Sports is business and it’s big business. It’s hard to turn somebody away when they want to invest…
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