PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide: Former major champion Tom Watson issues warning on possible deal to reunify men’s game | Golf News

Former Masters champion Tom Watson is unconvinced a deal to bring PGA Tour and LIV Golf League players together and reunifying the men’s game will be possible.

The men’s professional game has been fractured since the introduction of LIV Golf, backed by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund [PIF], with players from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour joining the circuit since its launch in 2022.

A framework agreement to bring the tours closer together was signed in June 2023 but has yet to be finalised, leaving LIV Golf players ineligible from featuring on the PGA Tour and limiting the world’s top players going head-to-head outside of the majors.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said last month that the involvement of President Donald Trump in discussions made the prospect of reunification “very real”, although Watson as not as optimistic when discussing the topic at The Masters.

“I don’t see a real working mechanism for the two tours to get back together,” Watson said in his press conference, following his role as honorary starter at Augusta National. “I think that’s one of the reasons you haven’t seen an agreement since June two years ago.

“The one thing I do know is that Scottie Scheffler in his speech at the past Champions Dinner on Tuesday night said, ‘I’m glad we’re all together again’. So the players would like to get together.

“It’s really up to the powers that be to see if there’s a framework in which the two tours can cooperate. I don’t see that framework happening.

“Maybe they’re smarter people than I am but the key element of the PGA Tour, and the one thing that is required of you is to get permission to play in a competing tournament, conflicting event rule.

“That’s there to protect the sponsors of our PGA Tour, so that the fields are not depleted of all the good players as they go and play other tournaments. I don’t see that the two tours can get together.”

Any change imminent?

The launch of LIV Golf saw the PGA Tour change their schedule and business model, with more Signature Events and record prize purses, with Grand Slam champion Jack Nicklaus believing the switch has been a success.

“LIV pushed the PGA Tour into doing some things that were a little premature for the PGA Tour,” Nicklaus said. “But the PGA Tour is doing fine.

“They’ve changed their structure. The players now own a piece of what’s going on. Their plan of bringing along with their elevated events and their plan of bringing young players along in the other tournaments has been very successful. We’re making new stars for the game.

Would I love to see them all come together? Sure, I think we all would. But I think the PGA Tour is the Tour, and that’s where most of your good players are, and I think it’s very healthy no matter which way it goes, but obviously we’d all like to see everybody together.”

There are 12 LIV Golf League players in the field for The Masters, including seven former champions, although tournament chairman Fred Ridley confirmed that there are no plans to introduce an extra category for those competing on the Saudi-backed circuit.

“We have historically considered special cases for invitations for international players, which is how Joaquin Niemann was invited the last couple of years,” Ridley explained.

“We feel we can deal with that issue, whether it’s a LIV player or a player on some other tour that might not otherwise be eligible for an invitation, that we can handle that with a special invitation.”

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