Scottie Scheffler hits out at PGA Tour's lack of "clarity" over LIV Golf merger

12 July 2023 , 16:03

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Scottie Scheffler had his say on the PGA Tour's PIF deal (Image: Getty Images)

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the latest PGA Tour star to have been left confused with the American-based circuit's plans with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).

The Tour shocked the world of golf last month, after announcing it had reached an agreement with PIF that would see them work alongside their LIV Golf rivals. Plenty of backlash followed, with the PGA Tour accused of hypocrisy by many due to its criticism of LIV and its Saudi funding in the months prior.

Ahead of the proposed merger, Tour officials appeared in front on the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to provide further details on what the agreement with the Saudis means for professional golf.

On the back of the three-hour hearing, one man who is still none the wiser is Scheffler. Speaking ahead of this week's Scottish Open, he said: "I just think that yesterday, we didn't really learn a whole lot, again. As a player on Tour, we still don't really have a lot of clarity as to what's going on and that's a bit worrisome.

"They keep saying it's a player-run organisation, and we don't really have the information that we need. I watched part of yesterday and didn't learn anything. So I really don't know what to say." Some of the Tour's biggest names have shown their dismay of players being left out of any sort of negotiations, and this was reiterated by the former Masters champion.

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"Again, it really is kind of that cycle where it's just a framework agreement right now," he added. "So I don't know what that entails. We are not involved in any of the discussions. None of the players were involved in the original framework greet, and so we just don't really."

Scottie Scheffler has called on the PGA Tour to provide more clarity (Getty Images)

Scheffler himself would like to stay out of any sort of negotiations with the powers that be, but believes the circuit's representatives - the likes of Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy - should be involved. He went on: "For me I just try to keep my head down and play golf. I don't get too involved in a lot of that stuff. I love playing golf on the PGA TOUR and that's the spot for me. I'll hoping that's going to exist for a long time.

"I felt like we were doing a good job before and then the agreement happened and now we have to navigate the whole deal. I think the Tour is working hard to try to get us more information but like I said, it's tough when you're in negotiations to make everything public. It's hard to negotiate the public side. I understand the privacy of it but I just wish that definitely our player reps need to be more involved in the process."

Joshua Lees