Is a PGA Tour and LIV merger actually good for the game?

As discussions continue around the reunification of PGA and LIV players, it has yet to be determined if this will improve the sport.

How the golf world will shake up yet again

Where it stands

Over the past few weeks, talks of the potential PGA-LIV merger have ramped up significantly. Last week, President Donald Trump hosted PGA Tour professional Adam Scott and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan at the White House. Their discussion focused on the merger and how things could be pushed in the right direction. They believe the president can be the key to favoring the PGA’s odds in a deal with the Saudis.

Although golf great Tiger Woods was unable to attend the meeting, he has been at the forefront of getting a deal pushed over the line. Tiger believes the professional game will “heal very quickly” if an agreement is met. As vice chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises, Tiger believes he is doing what is best for the game.

“Jay and Adam did great during the meeting. And we have another subsequent meeting coming up. So I think that things are going to heal quickly. We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. We’ve been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years. The fans want all of us, all the top players playing together. And we’re going to make it happen.” said Tiger at last week’s Genesis Open.

Cons of a PGA and LIV Merger

There’s an argument to be made that merging all the top-level talent in the world back together is a step backward for the game as a whole. The introduction of LIV brought forth competition the PGA really hadn’t seen before. Even Rory McIlroy, who is maybe the biggest anti-LIV player around, admitted their rivalry has helped improve life on tour.

“We’re playing for a $20 million prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn’t come around,” said McIlroy at the pro-am for the Genesis Invitational.

The payouts LIV offers forced the PGA to improve and give their players more equitable payouts. A merger could eliminate that competition, leading to complacency and potentially lowering the quality of the sport.

LIV prioritizes becoming a global league for its fans with tournaments in Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, etc. Although it has been a great way to grow the game, money talks and the PGA loves its gigantic American TV deals. It’s tough to see a way to whether those tournaments would stay after a merger.

How a merger could work

Taking certain aspects from LIV will be crucial to the success of a merger. Bringing back some of the best and most popular players in the world is already a given, and we already know that will bring back some eyeballs. But some elements of the way LIV operates may not go down so well with traditional golf fans.

Having no cuts for tournaments is something that may cause some problems. It could take away much of the parody and the exciting moments of someone sneaking past the cut with their final putt. Cutting the tournament down to three days is something that probably won’t be doable either. Not only will it mess with how players have been playing professional golf their whole lives, but it will also hurt TV money, which the PGA does not seem willing to compromise.

Adding LIV’s golf team format to an event or two could be an interesting shake-up similar to what the TGL has done. That feeling of rooting for the same team as your next-door neighbor in the game of golf is a feeling most fans haven’t had before.

Even though it would be a tough ask, the LIV model of introducing the game to untapped markets around the world is a great way to grow the game. This would be exceptionally effective with all the world’s best players in one place. Bringing tournaments to regions like Asia and the Middle East would be a great way to involve a new group of people in the game.

The bottom line

LIV Golf has a more international footprint and has made an effort to bring professional golf to more global locations. However, the PGA Tour still holds the prestige and history that attract the best fields and the biggest tournaments. To ensure their coming together is successful, those at the helm must be careful in the product they create for the fans.