With No Truce in Sight, LIV Golfers to Rub Shoulders With Rory McIlroy & Co at $9M Event Using Surprise Tactics

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are still in different boats, despite the $3 billion potential being in talks since June 6, 2023. Thus, the active players on the Saudi-backed rosters cannot play any PGA Tour events as they are suspended from the American circuit and practically banned. However, it might change at the upcoming Genesis Scottish Open.

How, you ask? Well, the Scottish Open became the first ever PGA Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event courtesy of the historic strategic alliance between the two leagues. Thus, even if a player is suspended from the PGA Tour, because of their membership in the European Tour, they could play the Scottish Open. So, who are the former PGA Tour pros in the Scottish Open field?

Wildcard at LIV Golf becomes part of the Genesis Scottish Open

For the first time in two years, the two suspended players from the American Tour will be playing in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. As Flushing It Golf reported on X, one of the two players is Bernd Weisberger, who played on LIV Golf for two seasons, but the Austrian struggled in the two seasons and eventually lost his card for the 2024 season.

He then appealed to the DP World Tour for full membership in 2024 after paying the fines. It was accepted, and Weisberger started playing well enough to be ranked 8th on the European Swing Rankings and qualify for the Genesis Scottish Open. Another LIV pro in the field is Laurie Canter. The Englishman won the European Open in early June and secured his place at the Renaissance Club.

Interestingly, Canter has played two LIV Golf events in Mayakoba and Las Vegas for the 2024 season, as his performance at the LIV Golf Promotion was commendable, yet he couldn’t earn the full membership and was kept as a wildcard. Henceforth, these two will be joining the likes of defending champion Rory McIlroy, 2023 US Open winner Wyndham Clark, and other top PGA Tour pros, despite their former association with LIV.

Over the past year, the golf world has expressed its grievances about the PIF and PGA Tour merger’s delay and opined that it should be finalized soon so that the two divided parts of the game of golf can be unified and players may then be allowed to play in either league. However, despite all this, the framework between PIF and the PGA Tour has not reached the finish line just yet. Is the deal between the two entities moving in any direction? What’s the latest update about the PIF-PGA Tour merger?

Jay Monahan gives a crucial update regarding the PGA Tour and PIF merger

The PGA Tour Enterprise set up a Transaction Committee, which included Jay Monahan, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, chairman Joe Gorder, John Henry, and Joe Ogilvie. This subcommittee is responsible for directly communicating with PIF and its representative to move forward with the merger and the required negotiations. A meeting was held on Friday of the Memorial Tournament wherein they had a successful talk with Yasir Al-Rumayyan and other PIF representatives.

Monahan, facing the reporters at the last signature event, the Travelers Championship, relayed that the deal between the two parties still stands, though it is more complicated than the general public understands. The PGA Tour commissioner also revealed, “The framework agreement is still relevant; there are aspects of it that still continue to be in play, but I would put it that we’ve all stepped back and we’ve started anew…we’re building from the ground up.”

As evident, the merger is in progress, but there has not been a fixed timeline for its conclusion. McIlroy has given a tentative timeline of 2026 as to when the PIF and PGA Tour might be able to finalize the deal. Regardless, unlike last year, the PGA Tour has been actively working on the merger, and it might be sooner that the golf world will be unified again.

Although LIV players playing with PGA Tour pros will be seen at Royal Troon too, this one at The Renaissance Club would be different. What are your thoughts on the LIV golfers playing in the same field as the PGA Tour pros at an event that is not a major?