Top 3 Factors Holding Back the PGA Tour-LIV Golf Merger as Details From Private Bahamas Meet Emerge

To start on a positive note, the player directors were able to ‘put a face to a name’ at the Bahamas meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan. A face-to-face meeting also helped to ‘ demystify and humanize’ the man living in the shadows. But the decision-makers of the Tour have to step over quite a few hurdles before coming to a full agreement. 

The realistic assessment put forward by Keith Pelley or Rory McIlroy puts the timeframe somewhere between six months and two years. There are enough reasons to believe that the Tour and LIV Golf will continue to go their separate ways for a few more years.

Leadership confusion at the top on both sides

Ironically, the men helming the project on both sides are two of the most polarizing figures in golf at the moment. Jay Monahan has burned a few bridges after banning players from participating in the Tour. Furthermore, the secrecy so steadfastly defended by the 53-year-old CEO hasn’t sat well with fans. 

Greg Norman is not popular among PGA Tour pros either. Tiger Woods has staunchly opposed Norman’s involvement. Rory McIlroy recently slammed the Great White Shark for doing a “disservice” to the PIF Governor’s vision. Interestingly, there was no mention of Norman being present at the Albany meets as well.

Furthermore, the future leadership of the PGA Tour Enterprises has been shrouded in mystery. First, it was reported that Al-Rumayyan will head the new entity, which will require some late-stage maneuvers at the moment. On top of that, the Senate files revealed that the Tour wanted to clip Norman’s wings in the future for-profit entity, a notion dismissed by the Aussie as “white noise.” None are willing to leave an inch, which complicates the matter further.

How will the team format fit into the PGA Tour? It won’t, per some

Peter Malnati, a player director on the Tour Policy Board, who was present in the Bahamas, called the current team format “contrived” a few days back. “Are there any fans that care which team won the tournament?” asked the 36-year-old. LIV Golf currently has a $25 million purse for each event. The individual champion gets $4 million, whereas the champion team receives $5 million. Malnati doesn’t want to see team golf shoehorned into the FedEx Cup schedule.

After the meeting, an anonymous player director said from Tampa Bay that Al-Rumayyan shared his vision of professional golf. However, that same landscape was not in the Tour players’ minds when they sat for the meeting. The player director also said, that while the relationship was “open from here on out”, there are still significant differences about the future of professional golf.

Much ado about multiple things

Jay Monahan reiterated in the memo what he said in the PLAYERS Championship press conference. That he couldn’t conduct a negotiation in full public view. So the details emerging from the one in the Bahamas and possibly the future were and will be few and far between.

Read More: Latest Report: Jay Monahan’s Resignation Was Demanded Months Before Viktor Hovland’s ‘Ownership’ Plea

Let’s also not forget even PGA Tour pros are not in unison on LIV Golfers’ inclusion in the future entity. Rory McIlroy would want to take a ‘forget and forgive’ approach. On the other hand, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and reportedly Woods, too, would like to see some ‘justice’ meted towards those who left and then sued the Tour. 

There are a few bottlenecks to be worked around. Above all, a Senate panel is still investing in the merger between the PGA Tour and PIF. Even if a deal is reached with Strategic Sports Group as a third-party investor, it’ll take a green light from the committee to remove all the obstacles for good.

Read More: Jay Monahan’s Bahamian Rendezvous With Al-Rumayyan Might Not Be Enough to Keep His PGA Tour Job