The golfing landscape shifted significantly when LIV Golf was formed three years ago, providing direct competition to the PGA Tour.
Numerous high-profile players left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in 2022, and even more have made the same move over the past two years.
LIV managed to tempt huge names like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm into jumping ship from the PGA Tour, with lucrative signing-on fees.
The likes of Joaquin Niemann, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith are also members of the Saudi-backed golf league.
It’s such a shame that, as golf fans, we don’t get to see the best players in the world compete against one another outside of the four major championships.
Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
With that in mind, a deal between the two tours would be great news for everyone involved with the game.
New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp recently said he will speak more about a potential LIV merger once he is clued up enough on the details.
Now though, a major problem has emerged that is preventing a potential deal from happening.
What the PGA Tour have said is the main sticking point preventing a LIV merger
Yasir Al-Rumayyan – the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), is apparently proving to be very stubborn in negotiations with the PGA Tour.
Even President Donald Trump has attempted to smooth over negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV.
Back in May, Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, and told him straight that any deal will be made on the PGA Tour’s preferred terms.
As things stand though, little progress has been made, if any at all.
And now, Matt Kuchar has opened up on one of the key takeaways from a Town Hall meeting this week.
Golfweek made the following claim about Kuchar’s thoughts on the PGA Tour’s mandatory Town Hall meeting with new CEO Brian Rolapp and commissioner Jay Monahan leading the way.:
“Kuchar said he followed up with a LIV question and was told that the two sides are at loggerheads with no resolution in sight. The Tour refuses to capitulate on certain matters, especially Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s obsession with the team concept and his refusal to budge on having it be a future component as part of any deal.“
Photo by Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Then Golfweek shared a direct quote from Kuchar. The nine-time PGA Tour winner said: “I don’t think it’s any breaking news that the talks have gone silent. They said we’re still open to negotiations.“
The problem regarding a potential merger between the two tours is that it seems like neither side are prepared to budge an inch.
And that usually means that deals simply don’t get done during negotiations. For a deal to be struck, one party will have to compromise on certain issues.
What Brandel Chamblee has been told about a PGA Tour / LIV merger
Brandel Chamblee is a hugely outspoken critic of LIV Golf, and a fierce advocate for the PGA Tour at the same time.
And back in April, Chamblee made a big claim about a potential PGA Tour and LIV merger.
“The beginning of last year, I was on the range at The American Express. I’m not going to name his name, but I saw someone who’s one of the gatekeepers of golf. A billionaire businessman. I said what’s going to happen, and he said, ‘The deal will never get done’.
“There is zero evidence that there is ever going to be a following for team play in golf. They’re not going to get Scottie Scheffler, they’re not going to get Rory McIlroy, they’re not going to get Jordan Spieth. I throw Jordan Spieth in there because he moves the needle. People think Jon Rahm moves the needle, I hate to break this to you, he doesn’t. Brooks Koepka, moves the needle? He doesn’t. People think Bryson DeChambeau moves the needle, he doesn’t. Very few people in golf move the needle. Tiger moves the needle, Rory moves the needle, Phil moved the needle, but not any more.”
That sounds like bad news for golf fans who want to see the best players in the world and the two tours unite.
However, following Kuchar’s comments, it does seem like the PGA Tour and LIV are in deep discussion about a potential deal.
