02 November 2023 , 17:50
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LIV Golf star Graeme McDowell has admitted he and his fellow players are in the dark when it comes to the breakaway circuit merging with their PGA Tour rivals. It was announced in June that the PGA Tour had reached a framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), that would see them unite with the LIV setup and the DP World Tour.
But since then details on what the future holds for the game have been limited and former U.S. Open champion McDowell alluded to this at this week's Volvo China Open, admitting players are yet to be told about any concrete plans.
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"We [LIV Golf players] read the rumours, we hear rumours but really don’t know what is going on," McDowell said. The Northern Irishman is hoping change does come soon, and wants a deal made between the two rivals that can benefit the sport's fans. "I’m hopeful for some healing because I think the fan will win, the golf fans and the golf market around the world," he added. "They are the losers right now because of where the game is at, but I think they will win again if we have some type of alignment in the sport again."
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McDowell and his fellow LIV players were initially criticised by many for making the Saudi switch, after professional golf was left torn in two. The Cleeks GC star admitted this was never the intention. He commented: "I’m hopeful that there is going to be some type of alignment between the PGA Tour and LIV, the two biggest tours in the world right now, because I think that is good for the sport.
"I don’t think any of us going to LIV wanted the game to be fractured the way it’s been fractured. We love the game and want to see healing." Whether McDowell's hope does come true remains to be seen, after doubt had been cast on the framework agreement in recent weeks.
McDowell became one of the big names to join LIV Golf (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)A number of reports have revealed that the December 31 deadline set to sign off the deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi fund is set to be missed, with negotiations taking longer than first thought. Additionally, PIF now faces competition to work with the Tour, after a number of U.S. investors have shown their interest in being involved in the circuit's no for-profit entity.
Late last month the PGA Tour informed its playing membership on the interest, giving an update on negotiations. Per ESPN, the player memo read: "We remain focused on reaching a Definitive Agreement with PIF and the DP World Tour, but not surprisingly, these negotiations have resulted in unsolicited outreach and proposals from a number of other interested investors.
"All of this activity reinforces the Tour's strong position and our potential for growth." Last week it was revealed that entertainment company Endeavour, who have ownership of both the UFC and WWE, had submitted a bid to partner with the PGA Tour, but this has been rejected.
Endeavour president Mark Shapiro revealed told Sportico : "We asked (the PGA Tour) for $25million (£21m) a year in services, and if they would have agreed to that, we would have been happy to make a minority investment. "But we get it: They have a lot of suitors, a lot of bidders, a lot of attractive offers, and they declined. So we’ll just continue with our long-standing partnership as-is with the hopes of growing it further in the future.”