PGA Tour players express doubt merger with PIF will happen

When news broke at the beginning of summer that Jay Monahan had secretly worked on a proposal to merge the PGA Tour with LIV Golf's backer, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, it seemed like a union was all but a done deal.

But after the PGA Tour commissioner finally held a meeting with players at TPC Southwind in Memphis this week regarding the matter, a shadow of doubt has been cast over whether a deal will be finalized at all.

"There [are] a lot of moving parts that have to come together for it," PGA player Tom Hoge said Tuesday, via The Guardian, adding that there's a "very real possibility" that a deal doesn't get finalized.

Rickie Fowler told the Golf Channel: "There [are] a lot of things that have to come together for this to happen, and I would say you'd have to sell everyone on the idea that this is the best option for the Tour, for the players, for everyone moving forward."

Fowler's attendance at Tuesday's meeting was noteworthy not just because he is a member of the PGA Play Advisory Board, but because so few PGA pros were even in attendance for Tuesday's meeting. Golf Monthly reported only 25 of the 70 players competing in this week's FedEx St. Jude Championship were in attendance for the meeting. 

Fellow advisory board members Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy were notably absent. McIlroy reportedly walked in at the very end of the meeting after he had finished a workout.