The golf world was rocked earlier this month after it was revealed that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf had ended their feud, but details on the proposed deal have been limited.
Mastery champion Jon Rahm took stock of the agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund, which will see the Tour work alongside its rival LIVGolf.
On June 6, the sport was left in shock, after PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan confirmed that The US-based tour would work alongside LIV and the DP World Tour under one entity, financed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). The deal appears to have ended the bitter feud between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
After the announcement, those involved revealed little about what the deal means for everyone involved, particularly the players, who were torn in two following the emergence of the breakaway league last June.
The players themselves were able to offer little when asked about the deal, and many of them didn’t even know the proposed merger was happening until it was announced this month- this. Ahead of this week’s Travelers Championship, Rahm still isn’t sure what awaits him.
“We don’t know anything. I don’t know if the people in charge know much more than we do,” he said, according to ESPN. “There are so many unanswered questions that at this point I wouldn’t want to waste time thinking about it because there are a lot of what-ifs and unknowns.”
The Spaniard and his fellow Tour professionals are set to find out more, with a players’ meeting taking place this week at TPC River Highlands. “I didn’t really talk about (the merger) last week,” commented the two-time major champion.
“I guess I might know more in a few hours, once we’re done with tonight’s player meeting. I don’t think we’ll have many answers, but I’ll at least have an idea where the membership officer is. That’s all I can say.
The man behind the deal, Commissioner Monahan, was forced to step back from his responsibilities last week for medical reasons. The Tour boss had already held a players’ meeting following the announcement at the RBC Canadian Open.
Describing the encounter as “intense” and “passionate,” Monahan admitted: “It’s a lot to ask them to digest.” This is a significant change for us. As I try to explain as we go forward, this ultimately was a decision in the best interest of everyone on the PGA Tour.
