While the financial future of professional golf may now be secured, there is less certainty when it comes to predicting what the top level of the sport will actually look like.
The deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Forum (PIF) has brought to an end the feud between the traditional tours and LIV Golf, one which had grown rather bitter over the last 12 months or so.
The move had widely been labelled as a 'merger' in the media, although some claimed this was inaccurate. Rory McIlroy was chief amongst them, having this to say about the future of LIV.
I think the one thing that I think was really misconstrued yesterday was all of the headlines were 'PGA Tour merges with LIV'.
LIV has nothing to do with this. It's the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund who are basically partnering to create a new company...
I still hate LIV, like I hate LIV. I hope it goes away and I fully expect that it does.
Many had assumed that the new partnership would see LIV Golf dissolved in the near future, although some new reports suggest that this might not be the case.
LIV Golf executive aims insult at Rory McIlroy
In a remarkable article from golf writer Alan Schupnik on The Fire Pit Collective, it is outlined how Greg Norman and other LIV Golf executives remain bullish on the future of the breakaway tour.
Far from stepping back from the competition with the PGA Tour, it is said that after the news of the deal broke, Norman told LIV employees:
Congratulations, you changed golf and you did it in less than a year.
There will be no operational changes in 2023, 2024, 2025 and into the future.
LIV is a stand-alone entity and will continue to be that moving forward. And that comes right from the top.
That is a far cry from the comments from McIlroy, who suggested that this deal would lead to the end of LIV Golf.
The piece goes on to say that a number of commercial partners have shown an interest in partnering with the tour since news of the partnership emerged, while they are also hoping to sell rights to the 12 teams that make up the competition.
When it comes to who is playing in those teams, we could see some new faces included.
One LIV executive suggested to Alan Schupnik that rather than stepping back from the top table, they will look to add more big names to their roster, with the possibility of joint teams events with the PGA Tour in the near future. That comment included an outrageous insult sent in the direction of Rory McIlroy.
Now we can finally get Hideki [Matsuyama] and Jon Rahm. I would say every big name on the PGA Tour will get an offer. Except Rory.
Nobody wants that little bitch on their team.
You can read the piece in full here.
While the war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf may have ended, this suggests that there are still plenty of details that need to be worked out when it comes to their new arrangement.
That could lead to plenty of friction among players and executives in the months and years ahead.
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