PGA Tour-LIV Fracture & Merger Is 84YO Jack Nicklaus’s Least Concern as Greater Good Takes Spotlight

Jack Nicklaus doesn’t want to concern himself with the nitty-gritty of the merger. It’s been almost a year since the PGA Tour and PIF, which finances LIV Golf, announced a framework agreement to align their business interests. Two former board members, Rory McIlroy, and Jimmy Dunne lamented the dawdling progress of negotiations. 

If his age is one reason why Nicklaus is far removed from all these—“I’m 84 years old”, he reminded everyone in the media room–the other is that golf is slowly coming back together. Asked about the Tour’s TV rating problem, Nicklaus countered, “Well, I think TV ratings have been pretty good lately, haven’t they? The last three months TV ratings have gone up, they’ve been up pretty good, from the report that I got.”.The PGA Tour’s viewership numbers have seen a turnaround lately. From going almost 20% down across the board, as Rory McIlroy put it, the PGA Championship has recorded a 10% year-on-year increase. 

Undoubtedly, Scottie Scheffler’s arrest played a role in Friday’s 18% jump on ESPN. But the thrilling duel between Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele pushed the numbers to 4.52M on CBS, a 10% increase from last year. Notably, Davis Riley’s victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge also garnered 2.083 million views on Sunday, an uptick of 12%. 

Nicklaus would love to see the top players on the greens more than four times a year. However, the 84-year-old believes that there are more qualified people to occupy themselves with the future of Golf. The 84-year-old rests easy knowing that, “it’s in good hands and I trust them to solve those problems because I love the game of golf, I love to see the game of golf flourish and grow as we’ve all seen it grow for a long time.”

The veteran golfer also opined that Tiger Woods’s addition to the board was for the better. Woods, notably, is also a member of the Transaction Committee, which handles the day-to-day negotiations with PIF. Notably, this wasn’t the first time Jack Nicklaus had placed his confidence in the PGA Tour commissioner and his trusted soldiers. And despite not being too bothered, the veteran golfer shared his two cents on the current landscape of professional golf a few months back. 

Why Jack Nicklaus thinks Jay Monahan is the right person for the job

PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, has faced a lot of flak after the merger announcement. Xander Schauffele raised calls for his resignation. And from his recent comments, it is evident that Monahan still has some deeper wounds to tend to. Jack Nicklaus, though, believes Jay Monahan has done enough to rectify those mistakes. 

Previously, in a chat with Rich Lerner, the Golden Bear said, “I know Jay’s taken a beating, but I’ve always been in full support of Jay. Everything Jay’s done has been in the best interest of golf and the Tour.” In the same interview, Nicklaus also dubbed LIV Golf as a ‘powerful addition’. His current sentiments regarding growing the game hint that the six-time Masters winner views both as necessary for the future of the game.