On June 6, 2023, the PGA Tour and the PIF entered into a framework agreement. Better said, they just announced it. This meant that there might be a possibility that LIV Golf and the Tour might finally end their rivalry and golf would once again reunite. However, these have been only words ever since. The initial deadline to make the merger a success was December 31, 2023. Well, yet again both the leagues have already panned out another season separately, hinting at one more no-merger season.

However, saying that there has been no progress at all would be a complete lie. There have been instances where hints at a successful merger were given. From Donald Trump being confident about passing the merger in fifteen minutes, to reports of both authorities meeting up. And now, looks like Alan Shipnuck, a successful golf journalist, too is confident about the best players coming together.

Alan Shipnuck often does sessions where he takes up the questions of the readers and answers them. In the recent one, he was asked about seeing the first LIV player appear at a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. To this, he surprisingly said, “Sometime in 2025.”

He continued, “It’s wild that a year and a half after the framework agreement was announced a deal has yet to be consummated. Makes me think of the Gordon Gekko speech about all the paper being shuffled from corner office to corner office. What exactly are these people doing? The sport needs to move forward, even if that means simply announcing that the deal is dead and the PIF is not going to invest in PGA Tour Enterprises. Were that to happen, I think the Tour would still move to improve its flagging product by allowing LIV golfers to accept sponsors’ exemptions to non-signature events.”

With a whopping 2.2 million followers on Instagram, and 16.7 lakh subscribers on YouTube, there is no doubt that Bryson DeChambeau is a fan favourite. Bringing him to one of the PGA Tour events would be a great advertising factor for the Tour. Not just him, getting back Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka might be equally fruitful. Taking to this, he added, “Bryson DeChambeau is now the biggest needle-mover in golf—the Tour would be crazy to give up on him forever. To say nothing of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, and Joaco Niemann, who are undoubtedly among the best players in the world.”

Alan Shipnuck is not the only one who thinks it will be a favorable circumstance for Jay Monahan to bring LIV golfers to their events. There is another important insider who believes that the golf world might come to some sort of agreement this year. However, the agreement will only be another bunch of paperwork as per him.

Joe Pompliano stated there will be no change in 2025

Joe Pompliano, the renowned sports analyst and host of The Joe Pomp Show, believes that 2025 could be the year when the PIF and PGA Tour finally come to terms and join forces, at least on paper. Despite ongoing speculation and attempts at a deal in previous years, factors such as uncertainty from Jay Monahan’s team and hesitation from Greg Norman’s camp have continuously delayed the finalization of any agreement. However, Pompliano suggests that this time, the two sides may finally resolve.

In a recent YouTube video posted just hours ago, Joe Pompliano shared his predictions for the sports world in 2025. One of his boldest predictions came in at #4, where he stated, “The PGA Tour–LIV Golf deal will finally get done…but nothing will change.” Pompliano suggested that while the two leagues may reach an agreement, the current struggles and challenges facing the sport will persist despite the deal being finalized.

There have been persistent issues like Tour pros not wanting to play outside the country, or wanting LIV golfers to give up their winnings to be able to play on the PGA Tour. Problems like these will only continue to plague the $3B merger.