Xander Schauffele hits out at LIV Golf and PGA Tour after merger issues arise

22 June 2023 , 14:13

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Xander Schauffele had his say on the proposed merger (Image: Getty Images)

Xander Schauffele has become the latest golf star to question the lack of clarity surrounding the agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.

The world of golf was left in a state of shock earlier this month, after the PGA Tour confirmed it was set to work alongside fierce rival LIV Golf in a joint entity alongside the DP World Tour. The merger - which will receive backing from PIF - appears to have brought an end to golf's bitter civil war.

Two weeks on from the initial announcement though, many within the sport are none-the-wiser as to what the agreement entails, including players on both sides of the deal.

The latest PGA Tour pro to hit out at the lack of detail is Schauffele. Ahead of this week's Travelers Championship, players from the American-based circuit were called into a meeting to learn more. Schauffele revealed on Wednesday he was unable to attend due to other commitments.

Even still the American star believes he did have any questions, the powers that be would not be able to offer an answer. "The sad part is I probably don't even have a question they can answer. There just isn't a whole lot of information out just yet. Some sort of the agreement still needs to be written up or agreed on, I should say.

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Xander Schauffele has unanswered questions (Getty Images)

Schauffele is not the first player to admit he has been left in the unknown, and will no doubt not be the last. Amid the uncertainty all he has asked going forward is that Tour bosses offer transparency in regard to the ongoing negotiations. "Everyone wants transparency," he added.

"I'm sure in their eyes they are being as transparent as they possible can be, and all of us players would like to think they are taking acre of us, but if they're not able to give us any answers, that means there aren't any." Similar issues were raised by Jon Rahm on Tuesday.

Jon Rahm has also been left in the dark (2022 Getty Images)

Rahm spoke ahead of the player meeting, but was not holding his breath about receiving any sort of clarification in regard to the deal. "We don't know anything. I don't know if the people in charge know much more than we do," he said.

"There are so many unanswered questions that at this point I wouldn't want to waste time thinking about it because there is a lot of what ifs and unknowns... I guess I might know more in a few hours once we're done with the player meeting tonight. I don't think we're going to get a lot of answers, but I'm going to at least get an idea of where the membership head is at. That's all I can say."

Joshua Lees