Don't Expect a Deal to Unify Pro Golf Any Time Soon

Much has been made of the fact that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, were paired together for the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Carnoustie. 

There has been speculation that it might indicate we are somewhere close to seeing a deal being reached between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Don’t believe a word of it. It was nothing more than a publicity stunt.

Does anybody out there seriously believe that these two guys would have been thrashing out the finer details of a deal while playing golf? Not a bloody chance.

Matt Fitzpatrick agreed, saying that during five hours at Carnoustie they would have enough on their hands focusing on negotiating one of the most difficult golf courses in Europe.

I do not dispute that talks have probably been ongoing in Scotland but there is no evidence whatsoever that we are anywhere closer to reaching the agreement Monahan promised us would be delivered by December last year.

Rory McIlroy has been quoted as saying that he hopes an agreement will be reached by the end of this year but I would love to know upon what he bases this.

He said: "It’s a great thing and a good sign that Jay and Yasir played together. I think it is a step in the right direction. 

"Time will tell if things go in the direction I want them to, or a lot of people want them to. 

"I think we all understand it is not easy and, you know, change for the most part in golf is resisted because it is such a traditional sport. But at this point in time I think change is needed to sort of try and drive the game forward and hopefully we can get to that point."

Dunhill chief Johann Rupert has spoken of a "need to get peace" in the sport and invited Al-Rumayyan to play in his event.

"What Johann is trying to do is just bring the golf world back together a little bit," said McIlroy. "If we need to be forced together in some way, he’s trying to do that. It’s certainly a step in the right direction."

For most of us, the real issue with all of this is the time it is taking and, in a masterpiece of understatement, McIlroy says this is because working out a deal is "pretty complicated".

He said: "Maybe it’s going too slow for the people that follow golf. In the business world, deals of this size take time. You are talking about billions of dollars changing hands, different jurisdictions. I think we’ll know a lot more by year’s end. We’re in October so hopefully [there's] three months to get something done."

So what, exactly, are the complications that McIlroy is talking about?

Where to start?

If we accept that LIV Golf is not going away regardless of any deal, will PGA Tour and DP World Tour players be able to play select events on the rebel tour? Conversely, will LIV golfers be invited to play on the PGA Tour? 

Loyalty packages have been paid to individuals who stuck with the PGA Tour but the biggest payments have gone to the likes of McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. And so it should surprise nobody that many rank-and-file members are feeling pretty miffed, especially when you also consider that the PGA Tour’s Signature Events favour the leading lights.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg. What is going to happen to the suspensions and fines imposed on players who moved to LIV? 

Remember that Laurie Canter left LIV at the beginning of the season and paid the fines imposed upon him so that he could return to the DP World Tour. Others such as Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters paid fines in order to play in tournaments in the countries of their birth. Will they get that money back?

And as long as the world ranking system refuses to award points to LIV players for their performances in their own 54-hole events I am absolutely convinced that there can be no prospect of a deal.

I want to see our sport unified once more. This internecine split does nobody any good, and most golf fans feel the same way. But as much as I would love to be proved wrong, I would urge you not to hold your collective breaths.

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