Fifteen minutes. Before being elected for a second term in the White House, Donald Trump quipped that “it would take me the better part of 15 minutes to get that deal done,” between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Having met with Jay Monahan and  Yasir Al-Rumayyan in February, Trump seemed to be on track to keep that promise. The talks were billed as a breakthrough in the long-drawn-out saga, and despite Al-Rumayyan being reportedly unhappy over some of the conditions offered, it seemed like a step forward. But even one of the most powerful men in the world found out that he might be a little helpless when it comes to finding a common ground between the Tour and PIF, just days before the season’s first major.

While the talks of a merger have found some support from corners, players on the PGA Tour, including world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, believe that they are better off without it. “I don’t think the PGA Tour needs a deal. I think the momentum is pretty strong,” McIlroy said on March 5. This momentum and confidence stem from the $1.5 billion invested in the Tour by US-based Strategic Sports Group. Last year, SSG pledged to make an initial investment of $1.5 billion into the PGA Tour, giving them an ownership stake in a new, for-profit entity called PGA Tour Enterprises.

Led by Fenway Sports Group, SSG will invest a total of $3 billion in the Tour, with the aim of providing strategic focus on maximizing revenue generation for the benefit of the players. This move gave the Tour some much-needed financial strength. So, what does LIV Golf do? They come up with an identical offer with some conditions of their own for the Tour.

On Thursday, The Guardian reported that PIF sent a letter to the PGA Tour stating their ambition to invest $1.5 billion in the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises. In exchange, LIV Golf asked to keep its current format intact and to give PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan a seat on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. 

However, in its reply on Monday, the Tour rejected the demands in its reply deeming them “unacceptable.” After nearly two years of on-again, off-again negotiations sparked by a framework agreement in June 2023, the two sides now seem to be back at square one. At the heart of this deadlock is the PGA Tour’s hesitation to embrace LIV Golf in its current avatar—13 four-man teams, wildcard players, 54-hole events, and massive $25 million purses at every stop.

The PGA Tour is open to the reunification of golf, bringing the top golfers in the world under one umbrella. “As part of our negotiations, we believe there’s room to integrate important aspects of LIV Golf into the PGA Tour platform,” Monahan said last month at the Players Championship. “We’re doing everything that we can to bring the two sides together.” However, if they agree to keep LIV’s current format, it will be complicated for this to happen. 

The Guardian did mention in its report that, “there would also be understandable unease within the PGA Tour should Rumayyan, whose organization has bankrolled LIV, be afforded such a prominent position as the breakaway tour continues on its own path.” Hence, the talks remain at an impasse with no immediate solution in sight.

But while negotiations remain tense, LIV Golf isn’t slowing down. They just hosted their fifth event of the season at Miami’s Trump National Doral. On this occasion, Trump was front and center once again, showing his full support for a potential merger. “Ultimately, hopefully, the two tours are going to merge. That’ll be good. I’m involved in that too. But hopefully we’re going to get the two tours to merge. You have the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour. And I think having them merge would be a great thing,” he said during his flight to Miami. 

But there’s another angle to this, too—LIV’s finances. Even with the deep pockets of Saudi Arabia’s $700 billion fund backing it, LIV continues to burn through money. The breakaway tour has struggled to find a footing in the U.S. in terms of corporate sponsors and TV ratings.

This might have led to the PGA Tour informing them that they value LIV at $500 million after the assessment of their assets back in February. For Al Rummayan, who has seen PIF pump an estimated $5 billion into LIV, the valuation may come off as quite low or even insulting. 

And fans have taken notice. With the deal hanging in limbo, the internet has had plenty to say—and let’s just say LIV isn’t winning many popularity contests.

LIV’s reputation takes a hit as fans side with the PGA Tour

As the PGA Tour firmly shuts the door on LIV Golf’s latest request, fans haven’t held back their opinions—and many seem to echo the Tour’s stance. One user bluntly stated, “The PGAT doesn’t need those clowns, LIV and the players on LIV are irrelevant and bring zero value.” That kind of harsh critique isn’t rare anymore. Despite LIV poaching some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names, it’s still struggling to gain mainstream acceptance.

It’s short on world ranking points, viewership is underwhelming, and the league’s non-traditional format continues to spark debate. Take their season opener in Riyadh, for example—it averaged just 40,200 viewers on Fox in the U.S. Not exactly a ratings win. Add to that the nearly $400 million in losses reported for 2023, and things start to look shaky. Some projections even suggest LIV could burn through $5 billion by 2025. That’s a massive investment for a league still fighting for legitimacy.

Another user added, “LIV product is very weak, extremely costly, not sustainable for long term and is embarrassing to the Kingdom (basically a joke). TGL is a much better long-term. The PGAT needs to expand golf’s growth in Asia. PIF should partner w PGAT on a Saudi Series and be happy w that.” And honestly, there’s some logic there. The PGA Tour is already planting flags across Asia, with events in Japan, China, and South Korea—clearly eyeing that growing golf market. If global reach is what PIF is after, teaming up on something like a Saudi Series might just make more sense than running a standalone league.

Plenty of fans are just tired of the back-and-forth. “Tour is fine without them. Let them rot and start missing more majors soon. So sick of this bs.” That’s the kind of no-nonsense frustration that’s becoming more common as the merger talks drag on.

Still, there’s some optimism on LIV’s side. CEO Scott O’Neil, speaking at Doral on Wednesday, offered a more hopeful perspective. While he’s not directly involved in the deal-making, he said, “If the deal can help grow the game of golf I’ll jump in with two feet,” he said. “Do we have to do a deal? No. It would be nice to do a deal, so long as we’re all focused on the same things.”

But some fans aren’t convinced a deal is even possible at this point. “Yasir had to know the PGAT would reject that proposal,” one wrote. Another flat-out questioned LIV’s position in these talks: “LIV product is not good enough to have negotiating leverage.”

So, where does that leave things? Even with Trump publicly rooting for a merger and LIV maintaining a confident front, public opinion isn’t leaning in their favor. With credibility slipping and losses piling up, LIV isn’t just trying to merge—it’s trying to matter. Whether they end up securing a deal or slowly fading out is still anyone’s guess.