If you search ‘Andrew Waterman’ on the Internet, Google will show you an English poet. Had you done the same a year back, images of PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan would have greeted you. Because last year, the PIF governor was listed at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship field under a pseudonym. This year, it’s been markedly different.

Pictures of Al-Rumayyan, and Jay Monahan hugging, and fist-bumping have gone viral on social media. Naturally, the hopes of unification run high, But St. Andrews might not be the Palace of Versailles that many are expecting it to be. 

Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Jay Monahan grouped together is a positive sign

Reports indicated that since the June 6 announcement, Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan were yet to meet in person before December. Monahan allegedly wanted a meet in October, but a scheduling conflict prevented it from happening. However, in 2024, Al-Rumayyan has been more visible in public. 

He has already met the PGA Tour player-directors in Tiger Woods’s Albany resort. And, now a public appearance shows we are quite removed from the hostility between two entities. PIF is perhaps not an ‘irrational threat’ anymore. There is goodwill – whether a forced reconciliation or a natural consequence is an open question. Regardless, it’s undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

But, it’s only that. A sign.

And nothing more. It’s a bit too much to expect Jay Monahan and Al-Rumayyan to discuss merger terms while walking toward the fairway. No insider sources have spilled any beans yet. Moreover, even if by divine intervention, akin to something that made the pairing possible, Monahan and Al-Rumayyan decide to end the civil war, unification doesn’t entirely rest in their hands. 

There is DOJ. And, before DOJ, there are players who are not fully on board with bringing back LIV golfers without some repercussions. A fine seems to be the most popular choice, but there is little room to doubt what LIV golfers feel about that. 

That’s just one part of the puzzle that’s currently all over the place. What would the schedule look like? Will PGA Tour players tee up in LIV events as well? These questions require more time than a 72-hole Pro-Am can offer.

Everything is not okay between PGA Tour and LIV Golfers

The crossfires between the two sides seem to have ceased. And no friendship has broken over the turf war. Yet, the fact that players are divided on the intensity of LIV Golfers’ payback evinces that it’s not all rosy either. We know what Rory McIlroy feels about Jon Rahm. But does Patrick Cantlay, or Tiger Woods share the same leniency toward Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton? 

Matt Fitzpatrick was asked if all is good between LIV & PGA Tour. ‘Not necessarily’ was his short response. Interestingly, the former US Open champion voiced a prevalent sentiment among European Tour fans. “There’s no invites given to European Tour players at The Players Championship. So why are we dishing them out for Wentworth [BMW PGA Chamiponship]? I thought that was absolutely absurd that that even went through.”

Guy Kinnings, Jay Monahan, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan might bring all the pieces in the moving puzzle in place. If not in three months, as Rory McIlroy hoped, maybe in a year. But how much of that would be due to the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship remains an open question.