PGA Tour meeting skipped by players as doubts cast over LIV Golf merger

09 August 2023 , 22:10

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PGA Tour meeting skipped by players as doubts cast over LIV Golf merger

Doubt has been cast over the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), as a number of stars opted to skip a meeting at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

The PGA Tour rocked the world of golf in June, after reaching an agreement with the Saudi fund. The deal has brought to an end the year-long dispute between the Tour and LIV Golf, with the two former rivals set to work in unison alongside the DP World Tour.

Nobody appeared to be left more shocked that the PGA Tour's playing members, with a number of them criticising Jay Monahan's decision to keep negotiations under wraps until the announcement.

In the weeks following the commissioner has looked to regain the trust with his playing members, with his latest attempt coming in the form of a player meeting in Memphis. Of course, the main topic of conversation has centred around the proposed merger with LIV.

But after attending, one player in world No. 42 Tom Hoge is less than convinced of the Tour's future plans. Per The Guardian, he said: "Not a lot comes from it... It was good just to have Jay there in front of us, see him again and see that he’s doing well.

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"Who knows what the path is going forward? I’ll guess we’ll just wait and see.” Hoge was then pushed on whether he felt the deal between the PGA Tour and PIF may not even happen, a statement he claimed to be a "very real possibility", adding: "There’s a lot of moving parts that have to come together for it.”

Rickie Fowler was surprised by the low turnout (Getty Images for HSBC)

Despite the pressing topic of conversation it appears a number of players failed to attend Monahan's address. Assessing the meeting, Rickie Fowler commented: "There’s still a whole lot that no one really knows, and we don’t know. It’s just continuing to trust that leadership and everyone is doing what’s best for all of us and the tour moving forward.

"Some of that was talked about in calls before this. There really wasn’t that many guys in the meeting, or less than I thought there would have been.” One man who failed to attend was Rory McIlroy. According to the Associated Press, the Northern Irishman - who has played a huge role in the saga surrounding LIV Golf - opted to partake in a gym session instead.

Joshua Lees