Report: LIV player returns are sticking point of PGA-PIF talks

Field Level Media|published: Fri 20th September, 19:07 2024

Sep 15, 2024; Bolingbrook, Illinois, USA; Jon Rahm of the Legion XIII holds the individual trophy after winning the LIV Golf Chicago tournament at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Recent reports have suggested that PGA Tour players want members of LIV Golf to return the money they received from LIV as a condition of any reunification of men's golf, but according to a Golf Digest report Friday, the bigger sticking point is whether to allow players back to the tour at all.

Few details have emerged in the more than 15 months since the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a shocking "framework agreement" to merge interests in June 2023.

The first and largest hurdle in negotiating a final agreement is how reassimilating LIV members to the PGA and DP World tours would work. Some players resigned their tour memberships on their way out the door. Some still hold exemptions, but for others, their tour statuses have run out.

According to Golf Digest, there are three players the PGA Tour is mainly interested in having back: Spanish star Jon Rahm, despite the belief by many players that his decision to leave the PGA Tour for a LIV contract of more than $300 million in December hindered negotiations; Brooks Koepka, now a five-time major champion; and Bryson DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open last June and has evolved into one of the sport's most popular players.

There are several potential avenues that could be opened for LIV players, including exemptions for LIV's top three finishers in a given season, starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, Monday qualifying into events and Q School (qualifying school), per Golf Digest.

The future of LIV Golf and its place in the golf calendar comprise another issue that's being worked through, the report said. A PGA Tour merger with PIF might not stand up to regulatory scrutiny, so keeping a quasi-competitor like LIV around could help the PGA Tour avoid antitrust litigation.

For now, the PGA Tour has moved forward with a 2025 calendar that more or less resembles prior years, and LIV Golf, which is concluding its third season this weekend with its team championship, has already released the first portion of its 2025 slate.

--Field Level Media

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