09 February 2024 , 17:52
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PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is said to be hoping to 'shut down' their rivals at LIV Golf, with doubt growing over the proposed agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).
The PGA Tour have been at war with LIV since the breakaway league burst onto the scene in June 2022. A year after LIV's inception though, it appeared the civil war was finally set to come to an end, with the Tour beginning framework agreement discussions with PIF.
In recent weeks though the PGA Tour missed their initial deadline set to sign off a deal with the Saudi fund, whilst also opting to unify with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG), who have pledged to invest £2.4 billion ($3bn) into the circuit's new entity.
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As part of the original framework agreement it was expected that LIV players would be offered a path back to the PGA Tour, but according to a Golf Digest report, a return plan is said to be towards the bottom of the negotiation priority list. Per the report, Monahan is said to be open to welcoming the likes of Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka in some capacity, but has no plans to integrate LIV into the Tour calendar.
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Allowing LIV stars a route back to the PGA Tour has become a hot talking point in recent weeks following the comments of Rory McIlroy. McIlroy had previously announced himself as one of LIV's biggest critics, pledging his loyalties to the PGA Tour.
On the back of the proposed peace deal the Northern Irishman has since softened his stance, and would be open to welcoming back Rahm and co to the PGA Tour without punishment. "If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back," McIlroy said at Pebble Beach.
Rory McIlroy has welcomed LIV Golf stars back to the PGA Tour (Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)"I think it’s hard to punish people. I don’t think there should be a punishment. Obviously I’ve changed my tune on that. I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties.
"It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game." Not everybody is on the same page as McIlroy though, with a number of his fellow Tour stars opposing the free path back for LIV Golf members.
One man who disagrees with McIlroy is Justin Thomas, who claimed: "I would say that there’s a handful of players on LIV that would make the tour a better place, but I’m definitely not in the agreement that they should just be able to come back that easily.
"I think there’s a lot of us that made sacrifices and were very – whether it’s true to our word or what we believe in or just didn’t make that decision, and I totally understand that things are changing and things are getting better. I would have a hard time with it, and I think a lot of guys would have a hard time with it, and I’m sure we don’t need to convince you why we would have a hard time with it."