Adam Scott described the possible reunification of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, where LIV pros would return to play in Tour events, as “one way forward.” Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, argued last week that reunification was “the best thing for everyone.”
Whichever way you look at it, reunification would bring with it one big problem. Many players who joined LIV, especially in the early years, did so for large sums of money paid upfront.
Many other players chose to reject LIV’s generous offers in part because the PGA Tour declared war on anyone who joined the upstart league, banning them from Tour events. The decision was a simple one: money now versus a future on the PGA Tour.
But if reunification happens, those who took the money and went to LIV will seemingly get it all. And that could leave those players who remained loyal to the Tour upset.
Scott’s thoughts on reunification
As chairman of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council and a player director, Scott understands the situation better than most. And while McIlroy said anyone angry over reunification should “get over it,” Scott instead expressed empathy in recent comments to the Associated Press.
“I wouldn’t be surprised — or I wouldn’t judge anyone, the members — if reunification happened and they weren’t happy with how it happened,” Scott told the AP. “I wouldn’t hold it against anybody if there were negative emotions attached to it, the thought of players coming back.”
He continued, “There aren’t easy answers to any of this stuff. Everyone is entitled to feel something about what’s happened.”
At the same time, Scott defended the negotiations, and any hypothetical deal the player directors agree to, arguing that the task they face is a difficult one, and they are “not in control of the entire situation. There’s another side to the story.”
In other words, any final deal will be a compromise, so PGA Tour members won’t get everything they want. Whichever way it goes, Scott will support the decision and the decision makers on the Tour’s side, who he argued are trying to get the best deal possible for Tour members.
“The one thing I do know is we’re not going to please everyone, but everyone should know that I will stand behind these player directors. They’re trying to do the best thing for the entire membership,” Scott told the AP. “They’ve been faced with some tough decisions the last two years — tough calls, big consequences — for whatever we vote on.”
Tiger Woods talks PGA Tour-LIV deal
Tiger Woods didn’t make his expected return to PGA Tour action at the Genesis Invitational as he dealt with the recent loss of his mother, Tida.
But Woods did join the CBS broadcast booth on Sunday, where he shared his own thoughts on the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations and a possible reunification.
“I think we’re in a very positive place right now. We had a meeting with the president. Unfortunately, I had some other circumstances that came up, but Jay [Monahan] and Adam [Scott], they did great during the meeting, and we have another subsequent meeting coming up.”
Woods continued, “I think that things are going to heal quickly. We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. It’s been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years and the fans want all of us to play together, all the top players playing together and we’re going to make that happen.”
And, according to Tiger, fans might not have to wait long for a deal to finally come to fruition. When asked if a deal could be done “this year” or even “very soon this year,” Woods had a simple reply.
“Yes and yes.”
