LIV vs PGA game thread

I had a feeling. Trump does not forget

What does LIV have that the PGA Tour needs? Among the LIV players, the only true needle-mover is U.S. Open champion and Internet prince Bryson DeChambeau. He was The Show on the PGA Tour in his brief bulked-up era before he switched sides and, oh yeah, he made a hole-in-one hitting shots over his house, a social-media Mount Rushmore moment.

Three other LIV notables are Jon Rahm, a two-time major champion; Cameron Smith, former owner of golf’s most famous mullet and British Open winner; and Brooks Koepka, a four-time major champ. They are outstanding golfers who are intriguing to watch and fans will go watch them if they’re playing in an event. Does their appearance in an event sell any extra tickets? Do they actually move the needle for John Q. Golf Fan? I don’t think so.

All golf has a needle-mover problem, in fact. Beyond Tiger Woods, who rarely plays and Tuesday announced that he had Achilles surgery, who else moves the needle? Scottie Scheffler, yes, and Rory McIlroy, for sure. Jordan Spieth, maybe, but he’s had only two wins since 2017 and is coming back from wrist surgery. Xander Schauffele won a pair of majors last year but can still walk through a Cracker Barrel virtually unrecognized.

“Those talks [with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund] have been significantly bolstered by President Trump’s willingness to serve as a facilitator,” Monahan said.
“President Trump is a lifelong golf fan. He believes strongly in the game’s power and potential, and he has been exceedingly generous with his time and influence to help bring a deal together.

“He wants to see the game reunified. We want to see the game reunified. His involvement has made the prospect of reunification very real.”

For those reading between the lines, that scripted remark was missing a pivotal third member of that group that met in the White House last month — the governor of the Public Investment Fund.

Even the most casual observer will have noticed that the tone coming from the Tour, which is the only side of this equation that has spoken publicly, has pivoted between the first meeting in the Oval Office, which didn’t include PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and the second. The narrative has drifted from “moving at pace,” “listening to fans,” and “reunification” to “I don’t think the PGA Tour needs a deal.”

That was Rory McIlroy’s take last week at Bay Hill when asked about the ongoing negotiations between the Tour and PIF that began in June 2023 with the announcement of the framework agreement. On this front it’s clear, the Northern Irishman is a bellwether of how the negotiations are going.

In Tuesday’s address, Monahan was impressively forthright, if not understandably vague, when he addressed the negotiations.

“We’re doing everything that we can to bring the two sides together,” Monahan said. “That said, we will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners.”